Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
13. take unto you] Lit., take up, even as neas (if the illustration may be reverently offered) took up, and examined, and girt on, the god-wrought panoply brought him by his Mother, on the verge of war ( n. viii. 608, &c.). The Divine armour, perfect, and perfectly ready, lies at the Christian’s feet, and is his own. Let him, by the grace of God, appropriate it in act. withstand
the evil day ] The dark crisis of the campaign, whenever it may be. And this will practically mean any felt crisis of the soul’s resistance. So in a familiar hymn:
“[We] ask the aid of heavenly power
To help us in the evil hour.”
The definite article in such a phrase does not isolate a solitary occasion, but denotes distinct occasions of the one class in question.
Some expositors see here a reference to the final conflict of the Church. But the whole passage is concerned with a present and normal “wrestling” against present enemies. Cp. the words ch. Eph 5:16, “the days are evil.”
having done ] More precisely, the verb being compound, “having wrought out,” “ quite done.” This compound verb is a common one with St Paul, however, and its special etymology must not be greatly pressed (see it, e.g. Rom 7:8; Rom 7:13; Rom 7:15; Rom 7:17). Still, an intensity of meaning is in place in this context: “having accomplished all things, all things demanded for equipment and action.” The verb bears the meaning “to subdue,” sometimes in the classics, and once or twice in LXX.; but not in other N.T. passages.
to stand ] unmoved at your post, ready for the next assault of the unseen foe. It is important to bear in mind through the whole context that the central idea is fixity, not progress or conquest; ideas of which the Gospel is full, but which are not present here. The scene is filled with the marshalled hosts of the Evil One, bent upon dislodging the soul, and the Church, from the one possible vantage-ground of life and power union and communion with their Lord.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In the evil day – The day of temptation; the day when you are violently assaulted.
And having done all, to stand – Margin, or overcome. The Greek word means, to work out, effect, or produce; and then to work up, to make an end of, to vanquish. Robinson, Lexicon. The idea seems to be, that they were to overcome or vanquish all their foes, and thus to stand firm. The whole language here is taken from war; and the idea is, that every foe was to be subdued – no matter how numerous or formidable they might be. Safety and triumph could be looked for only when every enemy was slain.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Eph 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.
Military metaphors
St. Paul lay in prison at Rome, as he himself says, bound with a chain, for the hope of Israel, to the Roman trooper who watched him day and night. He employed his prison hours by writing–first to the Asiatic Churches of Ephesus and Colosse, to the Christian slaveholder, Philemon, and, at a somewhat later date, to the Macedonian Church at Philippi. It was very natural that his language, like his thoughts, should be coloured, here and there, by the objects around him; and we find that whilst writing this circular epistle to the Ephesians, his eye had actually been resting on the soldier to whom he was chained. In the outfit of the Roman legionary, he saw the symbol of the supernatural dress which befits the Christian. The ornamented girdle or balteus bound around the loins to which the sword was commonly attached, seemed to the apostle to recall the inward practical acknowledgment of truth which is the first necessity in the Christian character. The metal breastplate suggested the moral rectitude or righteousness which enables a man to confront the world. The strong military sandals spoke of that readiness to march in the cause of that gospel whose sum and substance was not war but spiritual, even more than social peace. And then the large, oblong, oval wooden shield, clothed with hides, covered well nigh the whole body of the bearer, reminding him of Christian faith, upon which the temptations of the Evil One, like the ancient arrows, tipped, as they often were, with inflammable substances, would light harmlessly and lose their deadly point; and then the soldiers helmet, pointing upward to the skies, was a natural figure of Christian hope directed towards a higher and a better world; and then the sword at his side, by which he won safety and victory in the day of battle, and which, you will observe, is the one aggressive weapon mentioned in this whole catalogue–what was it but the emblem of that Word of God which wins such victories on the battlefields of conscience, because it pierces, even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Thus girded, thus clad, thus shod, thus guarded, thus covered, thus armed, the Christian might well meet his foes. He was, indeed, more than a match for them, and might calmly await their onset. (Canon Liddon.)
The chivalry of the Christian life
At that age military effort was the most successful form of human activity. Rome had made herself, not quite a century before, the mistress of the civilized world, and this not by her commerce, not by her diplomacy, but by her arms. In such an age, therefore, such a metaphor would quickly win its way to the popular ear; but it also would have attractions for the characteristic thought and temper of the apostle who employed it. The constant exposure to danger, the constant necessity for exertion, the generous indifference to personal suffering, the large-hearted sympathy with the experiences of every comrade, and the sense of being only a unit, only one in the vast organization of a serried host moving steadily forward towards its object–the instinct of discipline, in complete harmony with the instinct of personal sincerity and courage–all these features of a soldiers life made it welcome to the apostles conception of the Christian career and character–Thou, therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ; Quit ye like men; be strong; No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. The higher precepts of the army constantly occur in the apostolic Epistles. St. Paul does not discuss the theory of war, its antagonism to the real mind of a holy God, to the true interests, the true ideal of human life. He only takes it as a matter of fact in the world, as it was nineteen centuries ago, as it is at this moment, alas! and he consecrates it thus; he consecrates its higher and its loftier side by making it a shadow, not of Christian chivalry, but of the chivalry of the Christian life. The soldier differs from the merchant or the farmer, in that he has to deal with an antagonist. He differs from the racer at the games, in that his antagonist is not merely a competitor, but an enemy in good earnest. It was this which made the metaphor in the apostles conception so exactly correspond to the actual facts, to the real case of the Christian life. The Christian is not merely making the best of his materials, he is not merely engaged in a struggle for spiritual successes, he is, before everything else, engaged in a stern and terrible contest with implacable enemies; the forces arrayed against him are such as to oblige him to spare no exertion, and to neglect no precaution whatever if he is to escape defeat. (Canon Liddon.)
The Christian armour
The military code of the Christian soldier. A spiritual contest, hence spiritual weapons; whole armour to resist wiles of devil.
I. Active arming. Take–
1. Truth: not mere information.
(1) Truth is inward–to ones self. No self-deception, nor vanity, nor conceit.
(2) Outward–to others. Candour, frankness, truth of word and life, Most sublime sights are these:
(a) Simple truthfulness of character at home.
(b) A powerful mind vindicating truth in the presence of foes.
(c) The martyr calmly sealing truth with his blood.
2. Righteousness. This means truth towards God, justness, fairness, honesty, faithfulness (Mic 6:8). It is a breastplate, in forefront, to be borne bright and high, and seen by all.
3. Readiness–like that of Israel leaving Egypt, or a soldier in camp.
4. Faith–a shield, therefore a protection. Like God, our refuge, strength, help. It quenches all the fiery darts, etc. Not easy to have such faith; try, however.
II. Passive arming. The following are outward, external, not in the soul.
1. Salvation is the helmet.
2. Word of God is the sword. (W. M. Johnston, M. A.)
Soldiers of Christ must stand
In the armies of our great nations, while desertion is punished with heavy penalties, retirement is allowed under certain conditions. There is an army, however, in which retirement is never sanctioned–not even in the case of the oldest veteran; and, addressing the soldiers of that army, the apostle writes, Having done all, to stand. Stand therefore.
I. The prohibition involved in the precept. The conflict may neither be forsaken nor suspended. The following are forbidden:
1. Indolent or even weary sleep.
2. Cowardly or even politic flight.
3. A treacherous, or even a desponding surrender. Treachery is apostasy; despondency is sinful distrust.
4. The declaration of a truce, or even an application for it. There is a termination to the war, but no truce. No favour will ever be shown to the foe by our Commander-in-Chief, and the soldier of Christ does not really need the cessation of the conflict.
5. The giving up of a military position until the war is fairly over. The orders to the individual soldier run thus–Unto death; and until death the warfare is not accomplished. Death is in fact the last enemy.
II. What do these words demand?
1. They require a distinct and solemn recognition of the fact that the time of our life on earth is a time of war–an evil day. There are periods during which the sharpness of the conflict is greatly increased, and such seasons are peculiarly the evil day–but every day is a day of battle.
2. They require us to be always possessed by the conviction that we are personally called to this good fight. The true vocation of every believer is conflict; and to this rule there is not a single exception.
3. They demand the honest and manly facing of our foes. Some professed Christians turn their backs upon their spiritual enemies in contempt. They have speculated and theorized upon Satanic agency, until they have expunged Gods doctrines concerning devils from their creed. They have flirted and compromised with the world, until they and the evil that is in the world are placed on the same side. They have modified and shaped their language concerning human depravity, until there dwells in their flesh, according to their opinion, no evil thing. And thus denying the existence of foes, they have turned their backs upon them. Other professing Christians look at our spiritual enemies more as spectators than as warriors. They are seen as objects of spiritual interest, and as subjects for religious inquiry, rather than as foes with which they personally have to do. To stand, in the sense of the text, requires that we face our foes–not to contemplate them; far less to despise them; but to fight them.
4. The text requires that having taken the field we keep it. We may not retire to the ranks of those who refuse to fight: we must stand. The militant position must be maintained throughout life. We may be weak; but must stand. We may be weary; but must stand. We may be fearful; but must stand. We may be defeated in some single fight; but must stand. We may See others fall about us; but must stand. Many may desert our cause; but we must stand. Consternation may spread through the army of the Lord of Hosts; but we must stand. It may seem as though all things were against us; but we must stand. The day of final triumph may seem long delayed, and with weak, and weary, and aching hearts, we may cry, How long, Lord? how long?–but we must stand. The measure of conflict and of service allotted to us may seem excessive, but having done all, we must stand. Stand therefore. This requires,
5. that we be ready for attack or defence. To stand unarmed, is not to stand. To stand unclothed with armour, is not to stand. To stand in any sense unready, is not to stand. Having done all, your foes stand. Satan has done much; yet he stands. The world–the temporal, the sensual, and the social–has done much; yet it stands. The flesh has done much; yet it stands. Antichrist and error, and sin in every shape, have done much; yet they stand. No foe is as yet really slain. New foes are continually led to the field, and old foes show themselves in new forms. I read; Gethsemane! Calvary! Calvary? Who fought there? Your Captain–alone; for all His soldiers forsook Him and fled. With Calvary and Gethsemane on your banner, to be consistent, you must stand. Stand therefore! Now your orders are, Stand. Yet a little, and the command shall be, Retire. Come, ye faithful soldiers, inherit the kingdom prepared for you; and receive the crown of glory which fadeth not away. (S. Martin, D. D.)
The handbook of a Christian knight
1. What kind of heart and courage such an one must have, to appear in the place of review.
2. Who is his chief Captain, to whom he must have regard.
3. What kind of equipment he must have, and what is the best armoury, the best arsenal.
4. Who are his worst enemies.
5. How he ought and must accustom himself to his armour.
6. What a severe regimen he must carry out.
7. Finally, what he has to expect, if he conduct himself in a knightly manner. (Herberger.)
How the equipment with the whole armour of God is–
1. So indispensable.
2. So accessible.
3. So glorious. (Rautenberg.)
The reason why we must be well armed
1.The more danger we are in, the more watchful we must be.
2. Our spiritual war is a sore, fierce, and dangerous war.
3. All must fight this spiritual combat.
4. Our enemies are more than flesh and blood.
(1) Spiritual enemies are terrible.
(2) No outward prowess can daunt them.
5. The devil is our principal enemy, in all our conflicts, whether with flesh and blood, or with spiritual foes.
6. They who are quailed with what flesh and blood can do, will never be able to stand against principalities.
7. Our spiritual enemies have a dominion.
(1) God permits this.
(2) Yet is it usurpation on the part of Satan.
8. As our spiritual enemies have a dominion, so they have power to exercise the same. The Lord suffers this for the following reasons.
(1) That His own Divine power might be the more manifested.
(2) That there might be a greater trial of the courage of His saints and children.
(3) That He might execute the sorer vengeance upon the wicked.
9. Satans rule is only in this world.
10. Ignorant and evil men are Satans vassals.
(1) They resist him not, but yield to him.
(2) They are not subject to Christ.
11. The enemies of our souls are of a spiritual substance.
(1) Invisible.
(2) Privy to what we do or speak.
12. The devils are extremely evil.
13. The devils are many in number.
14. The main things for which the devils fight against us, are heavenly matters. (William Gouge.)
The whole armour
I. The day referred to–The evil day. Day a fit emblem, mixture of light and darkness, sunshine and storm, joy and sadness. Certain evils in this day to which we are all liable.
1. Evil day of affliction. Our bodies have the seeds of innumerable diseases in them.
2. Evil day of temptation.
3. Evil day of persecution.
4. Evil day of death.
II. The advice given.
1. We have recommended to us Divine armour. The Lords warfare must be carried on by the Lords weapons.
2. We must have the whole armour of God. Every part is vulnerable, and every part, therefore, must be defended.
3. The whole armour must be taken unto us.
III. The motives urged. That ye may be able, etc.
1. That we may not be destroyed by the evils of this life. Withstand.
2. That we appear victorious in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having done all, stand. Great comprehensiveness in the words, Done all.
Application:
1. Let believers rightly remember their present state. This is your evil day, expect and prepare for trouble.
2. Examine your armour; is it Divine armour? whole, and entire?
3. Let grace sustain you, depend entirely on it.
4. Let glory animate you. Think of the day when, having done all, you will stand. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The whole armour of God
1.It is very characteristic of Paul that he should give the first place to truth. He is thinking of the truth concerning God and the will of God which comes to us from God Himself through His revelation in Christ and through the teaching of the Spirit; for all the elements of Christian strength are represented in this passage as Divine gifts. Truth appropriated and made our own gives energy, firmness, and decision to Christian life and action, relieves us from the entanglement and distraction which come from uncertainty and doubt, gives us a complete command of all our vigour. It is like the strong belt of the ancient soldier which braced him up, made him conscious of his force, kept his armour in its place, and prevented it from interfering with the freedom of his action.
2. He gives the second place to righteousness. In the conflicts of the Christian life we are safe, only while we practise every personal and private virtue, and discharge with fidelity every duty both to man and to God. Righteousness is the defence and guarantee of righteousness. The honest man is not touched by temptations to dishonesty; the truthful man is not touched by temptations to falsehood; habits of industry are a firm defence against temptations to indolence; a pure heart resents with disgust and scorn the first approaches of temptation to impurity.
3. Paul gives the third place to what he describes as the preparation of the gospel of peace. When we have received with hearty faith the great assurance by the remission of sins through Christ, we are released from the gravest anxieties and fears. We have escaped from care about the past, and are free to give our whole strength to the duties of the present and of the future. The discovery that God is at peace with us gives us confidence and inspires us with alertness and elasticity of spirit. We are not merely ready, we are eager for every good work.
4. The fourth place is given to faith. There are a thousand perils against which faith in the righteousness and love and power of God is our only protection. When the misery of the world oppresses us, or we are crushed by the misery of our personal life, terrible thoughts about God pierce through every defence and fasten themselves in our very flesh, torturing us, and filling our veins with burning fever. We writhe in our agony. If by any chance we hear about the unsearchable riches of Gods grace, we listen, not only uncomforted, but sometimes with a passion of unbelief. Grace! we exclaim, where is the proof of it? Is there any pity in Him, any justice, any truth? In these hours of anguish we are like soldiers wounded by the darts with burning tow fastened to them, or with their iron points made red hot, which were used in ancient warfare. We should have been safe if, when the evil day came it had found us with a strong and invincible faith in God; this would have been a perfect defence; and apart from this we can have no secure protection.
5. The fifth place is given to salvation. We are insecure unless we make completely our own the great redemption which God has achieved for us in Christ. If we have mean and narrow conceptions of the Divine redemption, or if we think that it lies mainly with ourselves whether we shall secure glory, honour, and immortality, we shall be like a soldier without a helmet, unprotected against blows which may be mortal. But if we have a vivid apprehension of the greatness of the Christian redemption, and if our hope of achieving a glorious future is rooted in our consciousness of the infinite power and grace of God, we shall be safe.
6. But all these are arms of defence. Have we no weapons for attacking and destroying the enemy? Are the same temptations and the same doubts to return incessantly and to return with their force undiminished? The helmet, the shield, the breastplate, the belt, may be a protection for ourselves; but we belong to an army, and are fighting for the victory of the Divine kingdom and for the complete destruction of the authority and power of the spiritual hosts of wickedness over other men; it is not enough that our personal safety is provided for. We are to fight the enemy with the Word of God. Divine promises are not only to repel doubts, but to destroy them. Divine precepts are not only to be a protection against temptations, but to inflict on them a mortal wound, and so to prevent them from troubling us again. The revelation of Gods infinite pity for human sorrow, and of His infinite mercy for human sin, of the infinite blessings conferred upon men by Christ in this world, and of the endless righteousness and glory which He confers in the world to come–the Divine Word to the human race–is the solitary power by which we can hope to win any real and enduring victory over the sins and miseries of mankind. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Standing safely
The coat of arms of the Isle of Man is the figure of three legs armed and spurred, with the motto, Quocunque jeceris, stabit. Daring several centuries the island, standing alone in the mid-ocean, was a battlefield for contending nations. English and Irish, Saxon and Dane, here strove for the mastery. The coat of arms seems to refer to one result of this in the brave character of the islanders. Swift and strong, they were ready to attack, courageous in the fight, and prepared to follow quickly the retreating foe. The motto gives the same idea: Throw him where you will, he will stand. (From Strong and Free. )
A coat of mail
The Rev. J. Thain Davidson said to an audience of young men: There is no courage so noble as that which resists the devil, and is valiant for Christ. Put ye on the panoply of God. Cromwell wore under his garment a coat of mail; wore it whether he was in camp, or in court, or in chambers. He never could know when the dagger would be thrust at him, so he was always ready. Be you similarly provided. The fiery darts of the wicked may fly at you where you least suspect danger; therefore, be ever on your guard. And may the Lord deliver you from evil, and preserve you safe unto His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory now and forever. Amen.
No saint free from danger
Do you know, I have noticed that young people who are often exposed to severe temptations are very generally preserved from falling into sin; but I have noticed that others, both old and young, whose temptations were not remarkably severe, have been generally those who have been the first to fall. In fact, it is a lamentable thing to have to say, but lamentably true it is, that at the period of life when you would reckon, from the failure of the passions, the temptation would be less vigorous, that very period is marked more than any other by the most solemn transgressions amongst Gods people. I think I have heard that many horses fall at the bottom of a hill because the driver thinks the danger past and the need to hold the reins with firm grip less pressing as they are just about to renew their progress and begin to ascend again. So it is often with us when we are not tempted through imminent danger we are the more tempted through slothful ease. I think it was Ralph Erskine who said, There is no devil so bad as no devil. The worst temptation that ever overtakes us, is, in some respects, preferable to our being left alone altogether without any sense of caution or stimulus to watch and pray. Be always on your watchtower, and you shall be always secure. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
We must fight to the end
A man may be wrecked within a ships length of the lighthouse. Lots wife was not far from Zoar, yet she miserably perished. Near the summit of Mount Washington is a rude cairn of stones that marks the spot where a young lady, who was overtaken by the darkness (without a guide), died of exposure and nervous fright! The poor girl was within pistol shot of the cabin of the tiptop; its cheering light was just behind the rocks; yet that short distance cost her her life! So, my dear friend, you may be at last picked up dead, just outside the gateway of your Fathers house. While its hospitable door of love stands open, hasten in! You are losing the very best part of this life, and the whole of the life to come, while you so recklessly linger away from Jesus. (Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The soldiers duty
Our warfare is against powers and dominions. This line of thought is that of the text, and it is of this that I shall speak. Everyone who grows to mans estate is called to incessant warfare with himself. We are made up, not of irreconcilable materials, but of materials that are not reconcilable except as the result of great training and discipline. We are born first to the flesh; and our predominant strength lies in the direction of our animal appetites and passions. But we come, after a little, to a higher realm–that of the affections; and every child needs to be taught how to make conflict against selfishness, against avaricious snatching, against combativeness, and against injurious usage from those around him. And while there is an apparent conflict outside of the child in society, the real conflict of the child is that which is within him–namely, that which is to determine the question whether reason or passion shall predominate in him; the question whether generosity or selfishness shall inspire his conduct; the question whether greediness or benevolence towards others shall rule in him. Each one of us is conscious that at every step of our way within ourselves and within our own sphere the necessity is laid upon us of perpetual watchfulness. We are overcome by our inferior nature, by reason of carelessness, or indolence, or indulgence, or undue enthusiasm, or over-eager desire; and we find ourselves perpetually recalling, with shame and contrition, the victory of the flesh over the spirit, of the animal man over the spiritual man, and of selfishness over generosity. Not only is there this individual conflict in every man, but at every step of ambition, in every line of aspiration, there comes to us precisely the same element of conflict. No man grows easily into manhood. No man stands in approved and vindicated virtue, in any direction, which he has not been obliged to hew out with personal endeavour. Every man who is built up of skill, and experience, and integrity, and accomplishing power, has built himself up by repeated blow upon blow, training upon training, endeavour upon endeavour, with many surprises, and overthrows, and intermediate defeats, and all the time with a varied experience of warfare within. As soon as in some degree we have trained ourselves within ourselves, we enter upon a corresponding struggle with all the conditions of life around us. And in a larger sphere we are called to a conflict as citizens and members of the great body politic. Now, in waging this multiform conflict, all the methods known to actual gladiation and to real external military proceedings are reproduced in the invisible conflict which goes on in men. Nothing is more frequent in war than the attempt of one side to deceive the other, and so overcome, as it were by sleight of hand, or by the craftiness of a better understanding, those that are opposed to them–saving force, or economising it; and surely nothing is more certain than that the great enemy that wages war against us spiritually overthrows us by deceit, as it were breathing it upon us, blowing it through us, half blinding our eyes, and taking us at unawares. Nothing is more common in warfare than surprises; for in many instances a fort is taken by an onward and unexpected rush which could not be taken by a prolonged, gradual approach. So in spiritual warfare; how many of us are unaware of danger until it has sprung upon us! How many times has that burning adversary of ours, an uncontrolled temper, broken out upon us, and carried us away before we were aware of its presence! How often have we been lured by insidious pleasures till we waked up in the midst of captivities! How often have our best feelings been overthrown by the assaults of our evil inclinations! So, too, it is a part of military warfare to draw the enemy into ambush, giving him the hope of victory while he is being overtaken by defeat. And how often are we led into ambush by our spiritual adversaries! How often are we enticed from the path of virtue by some seeming good! We flatter ourselves that we occupy an advantageous position, and that we are going on to success, until, in the midst of the intoxication of our vaunted triumph, we find the toils closing about us, and we are captives instead of victors. (H. W. Beecher.)
Steadfastness in trouble
If you divide men into two classes, there is one that wants to be stimulated. The danger of these is from lassitude, or, to use a more Saxon phrase, laziness. The other class, being aroused and nervously developed, are intense, energetic, and active. Now, to undertake to apply to both of these classes the same passages of Scripture would be a fatal mistake. To say to one large portion of men, Stand, would be just the thing that they would like. Standing suits them exactly. On the other hand, to stir up and stimulate some men is like putting fuel on a fire that is already too hot. In the case of men who are wrought up into a state of intense activity, whose errors lie in a lack of peace and of rest, stimulation or excitement is just what is not needed. Paul puts them both together here, and gives only one kind of men leave to stand–those who have done all. The figure is a military one. It refers to men who have made preparation for a campaign, who have gone as far as circumstances will permit, who have provided themselves with armament, and who have armed themselves at every point. There comes a crisis where they can do no more; and the apostle says, When you have your armour on from head to foot, and are energetic, and ready for the conflict, then stand and wait; for waiting is as productive even as working–especially where working is not productive at all. Now, it is not to those who are indolent, it is not to the self-indulgent, that I speak this morning, but to the large class of willing workers who are caught in the exigencies of life, and whose very trouble is that they cannot work; that they cannot go forward; that they cannot succeed in executing useful and honourable purposes. I speak this morning to those who are forced to stand. Ye that are living in earnest, with immense scope, with fruitfulness, and with rightly directed energy! I desire to call your attention to the fact that, morally considered, there is a vast harvest to be reaped by non-energy; that energetic men, doing nothing, may be more useful to themselves and to society them they otherwise could be; and that the greatest misfortune which can befall a man is not necessarily his being brought into conditions where he cannot stir: for when a man is willing, yea, anxious, burning to go forward, but cannot, then he is in a position where he may attain to certain virtues and certain fruits of goodness which he scarcely could be expected to attain to at any other time. There are rare treasures for men who, in the providence of God, whether with or without their thought, are brought to a pass in which the only thing that is left for them is to stand, girt about in full armour, ready and willing to do, but unable. The withholding of a mans force may be even as noble, in the sight of God, as the most illustrious exhibitions of energy. When you have had success, and prosperity, and social consideration, if your success is turned into defeat, and your prosperity departs, and your social relationships are broken off, learn how to stand sufficient in yourself without these things. Learn first how to be a man by sympathy; and then learn how to be a man without sympathy. Learn first how to be a man by bold, executive, and effective troubles; and then learn how to be a man without the ability to strike, or without the ability, if you strike, to accomplish anything. Learn, with Moses, to smite the rock, and see the water flow out; then learn to smite the rock and see no water flow out; and then learn one thing further–to have the rock smite you, and to have no tears flow from your eyes. Let there be this double-edgedness in your power of using yourselves. Learn how to go, and how to stop; how to achieve, and how to fail; how to enterprise, and how to remain inactive. Learn how to have, and be a man, and how to be equally manful when you have not. Learn, like the apostle, how to abound and how to suffer lack. He said he could do all things, Christ strengthening him. He rounded up his manhood so that he was at home in the palace, or in the prison; so that he was at home in the city as much as among barbarians in the wilderness; so that he was at home when he spoke his own language in Judaea, as well as when he preached on Mars Hill and in the palaces of the Caesars in Rome. In this large spirit of Christ Jesus he felt that he could do all things, whether they were pleasant or unpleasant–going and withholding; accomplishing and defeating–neither feeling himself lowered, nor in any sense discouraged, nor made unhappy, but taking all things in that largest disposition of true manhood. This is the New Testament conception, and is it not a doctrine that we need to have preached? A man should live on earth so as to hear the waves beat on the other shore. A man should live here, so that, although he cannot understand the words, he shall hear the murmur of the voices of the just made perfect. A man should so live in this world, that, although he cannot now enter the kingdom, yet when it is open he sees through, and has a sense of the power of the unseen and eternal which makes him the monarch and master of the visible and present. In the first place, then, as to the uses of this, let me say, briefly, that there is nothing which ripens a mans nature so much as long continued self-restraint; and that there is nothing that deteriorates a man more and sooner than self-indulgence. Now, a man who can stand up in poverty with great sweetness and content; who does not think it needful to say to everybody, I was once in better circumstances; who assumes that he is what he is by reason of what there is in himself; who offers no apology for poverty, and who stands, after the loss of all things, poised, large, free, with radiant faith, saying, Lord, I stand today and tomorrow, and to the end, by the faith that is in me–that man is a living gospel in the community, though he may think to himself, I am plucked, and hedged in on every side; and no man cares any more for me. I have passed by walled gardens; I have passed by gardens surrounded by hedges that were so thick that I could not see through them; but I knew what was growing on the other side by the fragrance that was in the air, though I could not see it. A man may be cramped, confined, and obscure; and yet he may fill the air with the sweetest and divinest fragrance of a noble manhood. Men that are in trouble, women that are in exquisite sorrow, ye of a divided affection, ye of a crucified heart, ye whom time and the world have spoiled, ye on whom Christ has put His mark, and who feel your crowned heads pierced with thorns–having done all, stand. Can you not watch with Him one hour? Since the Sufferer is your lover, will you not be His by suffering as well as by joy? Stand, therefore, and to the end. (H. W. Beecher.)
Waking and waiting
There is a world of Christian life in simple patient waiting–in simple Christian endurance; and if I were to call your attention, with various enumeration, to those within the range of your own observation and knowledge; and if you were to go about and take an inventory of them, family by family, I think you would be surprised, and that the surprise would grow upon you, to see how large a number there are in every community who need, not the gospel of activity, but the gospel of patient waiting–who need to look upon their religious sphere, not as a sphere of enterprise and accomplishment, but simply as a sphere of endurance and conquering by standing. First, there are a great many who are called, in the providence of God, to bear things which are irremediable for physical reasons. There are troubles that never get into the newspapers (and therefore they are peculiar!); as when one is born with a mark upon the face, being otherwise comely. That mark is to be carried all through life. No surgeons knife, nothing, can remove it. Wherever he goes, man, woman, and child, looking upon him, look to pity. You that are comely, you that are plain, you that can pass, attracting only admiration, or attracting no notice (which is still better)–you know nothing of what it is to be obliged to say to yourself, at the beginning: Well, I am to stand apart from all my fellows. I am a marked man. No person shall come near me, and not stop and look, and say, Who is that? What is that? All my life long it is to be so. Byron was born clubfooted, or was early made so; and it wrought through his whole life upon his disposition. It made his pride bitter; it made him envious; it made him angry; but his bitterness, his envy, his anger, did no good; he had to carry that querled ankle all his life long. It worked on him. I know not how I should take it, now that I am old–they say; but I know that if, in the beginning, I had had that to deal with, it would have been no small matter. To be sure, if a man comes home from the war with only a shoulder, there is honour in that–such as it is. Everybody respects you, and permits you to go to poverty; and yet there may be a sense of honour that will be some sort of equivalent even for this misfortune. But, to have it congenital; to have it a mere accident, without any patriotism; to be lopped of one leg or arm; to be marked in any way that sets you aside from your fellows, and makes you a hermit in the world–an individual without cohesion in those respects which unite you to others–this is a matter for which there is no remedy. What can you do? Nothing. Bear it–bear it. And you shall find how easy it is to bear it, because everybody will say to you, My dear friend, you must be patient, and bear it. Nevertheless, here is a gospel for such–Stand! Stand! Why? Because it is the will of God. And every man who looks upon you, seeing that you have this great affliction which no striving against can remove, shall say, Behold how he stands, Christ-like! Look at another very large class of men–larger than that of which I have been speaking–who come into life, with a laudable ambition, willing and meaning to spend and be spent for the good of their country, of their kind, of their age, and, it may be, of their God. It is for them through scholarship to acquit themselves, and with great attainments and constantly augmenting progress they are already noted, and their unfolding powers show them to be no insignificant heirs of the future; but some feebleness or gradual disease of the eye not only closes to them all books, but shuts out nature, and they grow blind. And now in the hour when the word is spoken, You must content yourself, my young friend; no surgeon can help you; you are blind; you must be blind–in that hour, what an instantaneous revolution there is of life! What a change there is in every expectation! What a waste! And yet it is irremediable. And shall this man now go kicking against the pricks and repining? Shall he yield to despondency? This is a case where the gospel of standing comes in; and in all the plenitude of Divine authority Christ says to every such one, My son, I that wore the crown, and yielded life itself for thee, have need of someone in the very flush of youth and expectancy, to show the world how Christian character evolves under such circumstances. Having done all, having acquired the power to use your sight with great efficiency, now that it is gone from you, stand and be contented. Sickness comes in afterlife. Men enter upon their professions. The plough is put into the furrow, and the strong will, like well-broken oxen, draws their purpose bravely on; and, just as they have come to that opening where honour and universally acknowledged success is about to crown their legitimate endeavour, they break down in health. They become invalids. Learn how, having done all, to stand still, and be patient and wait to the end. It is a noble thing for a man, with a chastened ambition, restrained within due bounds by a wise reason, to aspire to achievements; and, when the potency to achieve is demonstrated, it is still more heroic for such a man, if it be the will of God, to fold his wings and stand still, and let those achievements go by. When you think how many, by commercial revulsions and infelicities of business, have been stopped in mid-career, and forbidden to go forward, not only, but thrown back to the bottom, is it a matter of no sorrow? And yet, I think that, under such circumstances as these, some of the noblest manifestations of Christianity have been exhibited and beheld. Men have contentedly taken poverty and obscurity, that they might inherit themselves; and if they were to speak their innermost thoughts, what a revelation it would be! And there are many men who, lying low in human notice–failures, as the world looks upon them–are nevertheless the highest in the wisdom of God, having learned the gospel, first of activity, and then of passivity. Having done all, they have learned how to stand. As in the outward, so in the multitudes of the inward, relations of life. It is often the case that children are obliged to patiently wait for their parents. I do not mean that the father is a drunkard, and that the child waits long and patiently for him–though that is noble; but the boys are all gone, and the old Vermont farm is hard of soil and full of rocks; and the youngest son at home is evidently a child of genius, more than any of them. One has grown rich in Illinois; another rules in a county in Missouri; another has gone to India, and is reaping a fortune there; and the last son, although in him are the movements of genius, says, I cannot leave the old people. My father and mother have no one else to lean on. And so, without words, without inscription, in the silence of his own heroic soul, he says, I will stand here. Whatever is in me that I can use here, I will use for my fathers sake, and for my mothers sake. Yet how many silent waiters there are! How many there are that have cried in the closet, night and day, How long? O Lord, how long? And yet there came no cheer, and no command, except, Having done all, stand, and they stand till God calls them. What,. then, are those considerations or motives that help us to do these things which are so hard in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ? We are His servants, not by a profession, but because we do, and bear, and suffer, as He did that bore and suffered. Listen then–Be obedient. To whom was this said? To slaves, the most accursed class of men on earth; subordinated, made the mere pleasure of their masters, denied at every single outlet the full expression of growing manhood. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily. Be glorious men, if you are slaves. But what is the motive? Says the servant, My master will not understand it. It will not put me forward in the world. Whatever I gain, he will reap. But the apostle says that you are servants of God. With goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, he shall receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Take the fulness of that thought of God with you, that you are consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ, following in His providence, following in His personal knowledge of and love for yourself, believing that from your childhood you have been an object of the paternal thought and care of Christ, in comparison with which ordinary parental care is poor and pale. (H. W. Beecher.)
The Christians conflict
I. Men fight with that which opposes their real or fancied interests. We can ill brook anything which interferes with what we believe to be our advantage or our good. There is ever a disposition to contend with such a thing, and subdue it or remove it. This is seen in daily life. How varied are the supposed interests of men; some of them noble, and some of them ignoble; some of them meritorious, and some of them worthless. One seems to believe that his chief good consists in the acquisition of worldly riches; and what efforts he makes–what conflicts he goes through with external difficulties, trials, and disappointments in order to secure them. He fights with circumstances, struggles with hindrances, until, perhaps, he conquers and gains his end. Another has his soul bent on pleasure, the mere sensual or sensuous enjoyment of his being, and thinks the interest of his manhood lies there. What shifts he will make, what measures he will adopt, what sacrifices he will endure to reach his desires, and to steep his soul in his delights. He contends with the barriers of time and place, until he overcomes. Another is fired with the nobler enthusiasm for knowledge, and how often have we heard of its pursuit under difficulty, so that he who finds his enjoyment or interest lie in that direction, will contend with outward hindrances and obstacles, and even fight with the laws which should rule his own physical system, that he may climb the steeps of literature, or repose in the bowers of science. Another still bends his mind to business, and prostrates his manhood at the shrine of commerce. And if health is lost, what efforts and means are used to regain this highest temporal blessing. There will be a fight with climate, locality, and all the circumstances of abode, in order to subdue disease, and reach convalescence. It is, then, natural for men thus to fight with whatever appears to interfere with their advantage, or to stand in the way of their interests; and in proportion to the estimated value and importance of the interest or advantage involved, will be the keenness of the conflict, the eagerness of resistance or aggression, and the strength of the desire to overcome the difficulty of the position. It is not in human nature for a man to be stoical and passive when his prospect is darkened, his interest assailed, or his happiness at stake. This general truth will aid us in advancing to consider the highest conflict in which we can engage.
II. Mans highest interests are assailed and endangered and therefore he ought to fight. These highest interests do not lie in the acquisition of worldly wealth, nor in the attainment of human wisdom. They consist in his relation to God, to moral law, and to a future state. And these interests are constantly assailed. Our relation to the Divine Being is assailed by the devil. Such is his hostility to God, that his highest aim is to secure our disobedience, disloyalty, and rebellion, in order that Jehovah may be dishonoured and defied, and that we may be spiritually destroyed. Our relation to moral law is assailed by the flesh–exciting us to transgression, moral disorder, and slavish obedience–thus deadening our spiritual sensibility, debasing our spiritual affections, and degrading our moral nature. Our relation to the future state is assailed by the world–blinding us by its fashions and its follies, its pomps and its pageantry, to the glories of the heavenly and the grand realities of the life to come. Its tendency is to lead us to forget the future in the present, to forget the eternal in the temporal and the transient, to forget the spiritual in the carnal and the material. Thus, I say, we are beset, thus our true interests are endangered, and our safety demands a conflict. It is true that Satan is our chief foe, and that he uses the world and the flesh in his assaults upon our manhood; but it is well to look at them separately that we may see our danger, and gird ourselves to fight. Yet, alas! how many are on the devils side–on the side of the world and of the flesh–carried away by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. They do not see where their true interests lie, and they do not fight. Anxious, it may he, to overcome hindrances to material success and temporal prosperity, yet they mistake the true battle of life.
III. The Christian alone realizes the true interests of manhood and hence he only fights. This, in fact, my brethren, is the great distinction between him and the unbeliever, or the mere man of the world. He cannot be a Christian who does not fight. He cannot be safe who does not fight. He cannot yet have realized or apprehended the highest interests of his being who does not see his danger and fight. He cannot be on the Lords side who does not resist the devil and fight against sin.
IV. This conflict is spiritual and must be fought in the soul. It is manifestly spiritual, for it arises from the nature and necessities of our spiritual and moral being. It is not a struggle with mere outward difficulties and physical circumstances, but with that which has introduced all suffering and wretchedness into the world, which makes mans life a pilgrimage of sorrow to the grave. The conflict is with sin, whether it comes in the shape of satanic temptation, worldly influence, or fleshly lust. Hence the soul is the arena, and the battle must be fought within.
V. The issue of this conflict is certain and will be glorious. Of its issue there is no doubt; victory is sure to all who persevere.
1. There is a glorious Commander and Captain. Christ is not only wise and skilful, able to cope with the cunning, and to meet the might of our fees; but He has Himself conquered, and in conquering them has destroyed their power. The prince of this world is cast out. Be of good cheer, says the Saviour, I have overcome the world.
2. There are sufficient spiritual weapons; armour which God has provided, adapted to the various aspects of the conflict, and the various stratagems of our foes.
3. And there is promised victory–The God of peace shall bruise Satan under our feet (Rom 16:20). The flesh may be crucified, and the world may be overcome. Christ has conquered for all the soldiers of the Cross serving under Him, and thus through Him that loved us we shall be more than conquerors. (James Spence, M. A.)
Standing in the evil day
There are, however, seasons of special trial occurring all along the march of the pilgrim soldier which he may peculiarly regard as to him the evil day.
1. Amongst these you will doubtless recognize times of spiritual despondency. All believers are subject to more or less of fluctuation in their religious experience. Constitutional differences give tone to religious character.
2. A time of spiritual declension and worldliness in the Church may also be regarded as an evil day. The spirit of piety in the Church is always far below the proper standard, but there are times when it sinks even much lower than the ordinary level. How often did the God of Israel chide and chasten His ancient people for their rebellion, disobedience, idolatry, and ingratitude; and the Church now, unhappily, too much resembles that of the former and the darker dispensation. There is a winter season in Zion as well as in the natural world, and these winters are sometimes long and dreary. Few flowers and fruits are seen, few days of sunshine; a universal torpor prevails, and under the chilling blasts even the soldiers of the Cross are found sleeping at their posts; the army of salvation seems almost frozen in its onward march.
3. More evil still than this, however, is the day when the believer actually backslides, and falls into open sin,
4. A time of absence from your home, or of changing your place of abode, may also prove an evil day. We are much more the creatures of circumstances, even in our religion, than most of us are wont to believe.
5. Turn next to the survey of the evil day when false doctrine prevails.
6. We must not omit to turn our attention also to the evil day of rebuke and persecution.
7. Last of all, may we not regard the day of death as in some aspects an evil day? (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
Standing still
It is a noble thing for a man, with a chastened ambition, restrained within due bounds by a wise reason, to aspire to achievements, and, when the potency to achieve is demonstrated, it is still more heroic for such a man, if it be the will of God, to fold his wings and stand still, and let those achievements go by. I wonder that some of the old music has been suffered to die out. I have always wondered why that song, The Captive Knight, should have gone into disuse. A returning crusader, in crossing a hostile territory, was seized by some nobleman, and thrown into a castle prison. After a time, on some bright morning, he hears the sound of distant music, which comes nearer and nearer; and soon the flash of the spears is seen; and by and by the banners appear; and at last he sees men approaching whom he recognizes as his old companions, with whom he has breasted the war in a thousand battles. As they draw still nearer and nearer, he can distinguish their countenances; and he calls out from his tower to them, again and again; but the music covers the sound of his voice, and they pass on and on, and finally the last one disappears, the banners gleam no more, and the music dies in his ear, and he is left alone to perish in his prison! There are thousands of captive knights in this world who see their companions passing by with the glories and honours of life, while they are in prison and cannot stir; and to them comes the message of our text, Having done all, stand. Stand still, and be patient, and be as manly and as noble, in standing still, as you fain would have been in attainment and achievement. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
The damager of reaction
For as long as we find it true that danger and defeat may be nearest just in the hour when victory seems completest, as long as we see it the ease that men who have conquered in the greatest temptations may live to fall a prey to the meanest–so long there is room for the message, Having done all, brethren, take heed that ye stand.
I. First, then, let us take the class of cases which the admonition suits.
1. I think, then, in the first p]ace, you may look at the text in connection with religious profession, that is, the public acknowledgment which a soul makes of Christ, its openly-expressed resolution to wear His name, to carry His Cross, and to support His cause. But everything is not won, though this be won, and having done all, in this matter, see that ye stand.
2. So again, we might apply the text to the case of religious attainment. It would be pleasant to believe that the Christian life is always a life of progress, ever unfolding, as the years go on, from good to what is better, and from what is better to what is best, till the Master says to each at the close of it, Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful unto death. But there is no such necessary or infallible development as this. The mystery lies here, that even where sanctification has actually taken place, there are instances permitted in which the power and achievements of grace seem rather to diminish than increase with time. The life seems to taper off and deteriorate as it nears the close. Laden with the traditions of a good fight that has been foughten well, and won right valiantly, rich in the memories of service that has been bravely rendered and signally owned, such a life has after all been permitted to end in insignificance, selfishness, peevishness, or worse.
3. Or, again, take the case of religious privileges. And there is no better illustration at this point than the illustration afforded by Communion seasons; for the right use and enjoyment of these imply that temptations have been withstood, surrenders accomplished, and victories won. Thus, in preparing for the service contemplated, you settled down to examine yourselves and your life; and in so doing you won a victory over self. In taking part in the service itself, you found your perplexities removed, your faith confirmed, and your love elicited, till you felt you could clasp the truth, and lean on a truth-keeping Christ, and in so doing you won a victory over doubt. Lifes business was hushed, lifes cares were shut out, lifes temptation were withdrawn, as you cast your care on Him who careth for you; and, in the very experience, you won the victory over the world. I take such a season as this at its purest and highest, and suppose that the heart has fetched from it the very best its enjoyments and lessons can yield, in elevation of feeling, in sanctification of life. And here we may say, as before, the soul in a sense has done all. Be it so, is the message of the text to you, now take heed to yourself, that having done all, you may stand.
II. And now let us pass from the cases which the admonition suits, to the reasons on which the admonition is based. And let us ask for a little why it is specially necessary that those who have thus done all, in the way of religious profession, religious attainment, and religious privilege, should be warned, Take heed that ye stand. Brethren, the hour of triumph has its dangers by the operation of a very natural law. There is the peril of reaction in grace, as there is the peril of reaction in most other spheres.
1. For one thing, it is so easy to presume on the extent of our victory, and hence the tendency to security.
2. It is also easy to presume on the permanency of what has been done, and hence the tendency to sloth.
III. And now, let us mark some of the practical counsels with which the admonition may be accompanied.
1. Watch; that is one safeguard–Happy is he who feareth always! Fear, lest in the thrill of success the head begins to reel and the feet begin to slip, and it prove true of a spiritual victory, as it continually holds true of temporal successes, that the prosperity of the unwary shall slay them. And fear, not only in the day when a past conflict has elated you, but in the day when, as is sometimes the case, a past conflict has depressed you.
2. And work, as well as watch. Because you have engaged in one kind of Christian activity, and completed it with success, earning the thanks of your fellows in the Church, the approval of your conscience, the well done of your God–do not consider yourself absolved, but straightway set your face to another–whatsoever is nearest you in Providence; and if nothing is near, then go in diligent search for it.
3. And, lastly, pray. Let no task be done, let no temptation be vanquished, let no grace be attained, without their result in an increase of prayer. (W. A. Gray.)
The Christian warrior
I. First, we are to consider the Christian resisting–That ye may be able to withstand in the evil day. In the evil day. This expression may be understood of the whole course of our life militant here upon earth; as if the entire term of our continuance here might be described as one long and cloudy day. Such an estimate of life we find the patriarch Jacob formed, when he says–Few and evil have the days of my life been. In the present passage, however, it is better, perhaps, to take the apostles meaning in a more restricted sense. He lived in troublous times. This very letter was dated from a prison; and in the fifth chapter we find him exhorting his Ephesian converts to walk circumspectly, assigning as a reason, that they must redeem the time, because the days are evil.
1. But let us note more particularly some of those passages of our life which, unless we be well fortified with our Christian armour, will prove an evil day to us. Thus there is the day of sickness. In one sense this is always an evil day. It may not be so ultimately, but it must be so in our first experience of it.
2. Again, the day of adversity is an evil day. This, too, is a day which will try the temper of every part of our spiritual armour.
3. So also the day of temptation is an evil day. Temptation is a sore evil in itself; but it is more so from the evil which it developes and brings to light. There are evils in the hearts of all of us which we know not of until temptation discovers them to us.
4. Once more: among the evil days against which we should provide this spiritual armour, we may well suppose the apostle to mean the day of our death.
II. But we come to the second part of our text, which sets before us the Christian conquering–Having done all, to stand. This shows us, first, that religion is not a thing of speculation, not a mere matter of creeds and doctrines, but a system of principles to be acted upon, a set work to be done. To stand. This expression may be interpreted in two or three ways. First, it may be taken, that by this armour we shall be enabled to stand fast in our Christian profession to the end of our days; that as soldiers of the Cross we shall stand by our colours to the last, resisting Christians, conquering Christians, even on the last field of temptation, and on the bed of death itself. In this attitude we find Paul representing himself to Timothy, when seeing the hour of his departure was at hand. Again, by the expression, stand, the apostle no doubt means that the conquering Christian shall be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man. In this sense he writes to the Colossians: That ye stand perfect and complete in the will of God. Now, without having endured the hardness, and done the work, and put on the armour of the Christian soldier, it is certain that in the great judgment we never can stand. Once more: the apostles expression may be interpreted of our standing as glorified spirits in the presence of God. He who stands fast in the conflict, and stands acquitted in the judgment, shall have, as the recompense of his toils, and as the reward of victory, to stand eternally in glory. Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (D. Moore, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Wherefore] Because ye have such enemies to contend with, take unto you-assume, as provided and prepared for you, the whole armour of God; which armour if you put on and use, you shall be both invulnerable and immortal. The ancient heroes are fabled to have had armour sent to them by the gods; and even the great armour-maker, Vulcan, was reputed to be a god himself. This was fable: What Paul speaks of is reality. See Clarke on Eph 6:11.
That ye may be able to withstand] That ye may not only stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free, but also discomfit all your spiritual foes; and continuing in your ranks, maintain your ground against them, never putting off your armour, but standing always ready prepared to repel any new attack.
And having done all, to stand.] rather, And having conquered all, stand: this is a military phrase, and is repeatedly used in this sense by the best Greek writers. So Dionys. Hal. Ant., lib. vi., page 400: “Having in a short time discomfited all our enemies, we returned with numerous captives and much spoil.” See many examples in Kypke. By evil day we may understand any time of trouble, affliction, and sore temptation.
As there is here allusion to some of the most important parts of the Grecian armour, I shall give a short account of the whole. It consisted properly of two sorts:
1. Defensive armour, or that which protected themselves.
2. Offensive armour, or that by which they injured their enemies. The apostle refers to both.
I. Defensive armour:
, the HELMET; this was the armour for the head, and was of various forms, and embossed with a great variety of figures. Connected with the helmet was the crest or ridge on the top of the helmet, adorned with several emblematic figures; some for ornament, some to strike terror. For crests on ancient helmets we often see the winged lion, the griffin, chimera, c. St. Paul seems to refer to one which had an emblematical representation of hope.
, the GIRDLE this went about the loins, and served to brace the armour tight to the body, and to support daggers, short swords, and such like weapons, which were frequently stuck in it. This kind of girdle is in general use among the Asiatic nations to the present day.
, the BREAST-PLATE; this consisted of two parts, called or wings: one covered the whole region of the thorax or breast, in which the principal viscera of life are contained; and the other covered the back, as far down as the front part extended.
, GREAVES or brazen boots, which covered the shin or front of the leg; a kind of solea was often used, which covered the sole, and laced about the instep, and prevented the foot from being wounded by rugged ways, thorns, stones, c.
, GAUNTLETS a kind of gloves that served to defend the hands, and the arm up to the elbow.
, the clypeus or SHIELD; it was perfectly round, and sometimes made of wood, covered with bullocks’ hides; but often made of metal. The aspis or shield of Achilles, made by Vulcan, was composed of five plates, two of brass, two of tin, and one of gold; so Homer, Il. U. v. 270:-
– ,
, ‘ ,
.
Five plates of various metal, various mould,
Composed the shield; of brass each outward fold,
Of tin each inward, and the middle gold.
Of shields there were several sorts:
or , the gerron; a small square shield, used first by the Persians.
, LAISEION; a sort of oblong shield, covered with rough hides, or skins with the hair on.
, the PELTA; a small light shield, nearly in the form of a demicrescent, with a small ornament, similar to the recurved leaves of a flower de luce, on the centre of a diagonal edge or straight line; this was the Amazonian shield.
, the scutum or OBLONG SHIELD; this was always made of wood, and covered with hides. It was exactly in the shape of the laiseion, but differed in size, being much larger, and being covered with hides from which the hair had been taken off. It was called from , a door, which it resembled in its oblong shape; but it was made curved, so as to embrace the whole forepart of the body. The aspis and the thureos were the shields principally in use; the former for light, the latter for heavy armed troops.
II. Offensive armour, or weapons; the following were chief:
, enchos, the SPEAR; which was generally a head of brass or iron, with a long shaft of ash.
, the LANCE; differing perhaps little from the former, but in its size and lightness; being a missile used, both by infantry and cavalry, for the purpose of annoying the enemy at a distance.
, the SWORD; these were of various sizes, and in the beginning all of brass. The swords of Homer’s heroes are all of this metal.
, called also a sword, sometimes a knife; it was a short sword, used more frequently by gladiators, or in single combat. What other difference it had from the xiphos I cannot tell.
, from which our word AXE; the common battle-axe.
, the BIPEN; a sort of battle-axe, with double face, one opposite to the other.
, an iron club or mace, much used both among the ancient Greeks and Persians.
, the BOW; with its pharetra or quiver, and its stock or sheaf of arrows.
, the SLING; an instrument in the use of which most ancient nations were very expert, particularly the Hebrews and ancient Greeks.
The arms and armour mentioned above were not always in use; they were found out and improved by degrees. The account given by Lucretius of the arms of the first inhabitants of the earth is doubtless as correct as it is natural.
Arma antiqua manus, ungues, dentesque fuere,
Et lapides, et item silvarum fragmina rami,
Et flammae, atque ignes postquam sunt cognita primum:
Posterius ferri vis est, aerisque reperta:
Sed prius aeris erat quam ferri cognitus usus:
Quo facilis magis est natura, et copia major.
De Rerum Nat., lib. v. ver. 1282.
Whilst cruelty was not improved by art,
And rage not furnished yet with sword or dart;
With fists, or boughs, or stones, the warriors fought;
These were the only weapons Nature taught:
But when flames burnt the trees and scorched the ground,
Then brass appeared, and iron fit to wound.
Brass first was used, because the softer ore,
And earth’s cold veins contained a greater store.
CREECH.
I have only to observe farther on this head,
1. That the ancient Greeks and Romans went constantly armed;
2. That before they engaged they always ate together; and
3. That they commenced every attack with prayer to the gods for success.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the evil day; times of temptation, and Satans greatest rage: see Eph 5:16.
Having done all; all that belongs to good soldiers of Jesus Christ, all that we can do being little enough to secure our standing.
To stand; as conquerors do that keep the field, not being beaten down, nor giving way.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. take . . . of Godnot”make,” God has done that: you have only to “take up”and put it on. The Ephesians were familiar with the idea of the godsgiving armor to mythical heroes: thus Paul’s allusion would beappropriate.
the evil daythe day ofSatan’s special assaults (Eph 6:12;Eph 6:16) in life and at thedying hour (compare Re 3:10).We must have our armor always on, to be ready against the evil daywhich may come at any moment, the war being perpetual (Ps41:1, Margin).
done allrather,”accomplished all things,” namely, necessary to the fight,and becoming a good soldier.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,…. This is a repetition of the exhortation in Eph 6:11; which repetition seems necessary by reason of the many powerful enemies mentioned in the preceding verse, and serves to explain what is meant by putting it on: and leads on the apostle to give an account of the several parts of this armour: the end of taking it is much the same as before,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day; that is, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles and stratagems of Satan, against his power and might, to oppose his schemes, and resist his temptations: and so the Syriac version renders it, “that ye may be able to meet the evil one”; to face him, and give him battle, being accoutred with the whole armour of God; though the Greek copies, and other versions, read, “in the evil day”; in which sin and iniquity abound, error and heresy prevail, Satan is very busy, trials and afflictions come on, persecution arises because of the word, and God’s judgments are in the earth:
and having done all to stand; or having overcome, having routed the enemy, stand as conquerors; or rather, having took and put on the whole armour of God, in order to stand, and withstand the enemy.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Take up (). Second aorist active imperative of , old word and used () of “picking up” Mark in 2Ti 4:11.
That ye may be able to withstand ( ). Final clause with and first aorist passive subjunctive of with (second aorist active infinitive of , to stand face to face, against).
And having done all to stand ( ). After the fight (wrestle) is over to stand () as victor in the contest. Effective aorist here.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Wherefore. Because the fight is with such powers.
Take unto you [] . Lit., take up, as one takes up armor to put it on. So Rev.
The whole armor. An interesting parallel passage, evidently founded upon this, occurs in Ignatius’ Epistle to Polycarp, 6. “Please the captain under whom ye serve, from whom also ye shall receive your wages. Let no one of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism abide as your shield; your faith as your helmets; your love as your spear; your patience as your whole armor. Let your good works be your savings [ ] , 171 that you may receive what is justly to your credit.” Gibbon relates how the relaxation of discipline and the disuse of exercise rendered the soldiers less willing and less able to support the fatigues of the service. They complained of the weight of their armor, and successively obtained permission to lay aside their cuirasses and helmets (ch. 27.).
Withstand. With has the sense of against, as appears in the older English withsay, to contradict; Anglo – Saxon, widstandan, to resist. Compare German, wider and Widerstand, resistance.
Having done all. Everything which the crisis demands.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Wherefore take unto you” (dia touto analabete) “Therefore take ye up,” or “receive ye in your behalf,” because your enemies are such as these, for your own good and the honor of the Lord, “take up,” or “receive ye” (Gk. analabete) as one who dresses in soldier array or armor, as in Deu 1:41; 2Co 10:4-5.
2) “The whole armor of God” (ten panoplian tou theou) “The hole armor of God,” or “all the warfare equipment of God.” It lies at the Christian’s feet to perfectly equip him for every struggle and battle with Satan and sin, if only he will act in taking it up, putting it on, fitting it to his own need and use, 2Ti 2:15; 2Ti 3:15-16.
3) “That ye may be able to withstand” (hina dunethete antistenai) “In order that ye may be able to resist” The armor of God for the Christian soldier, the church member in particular, is adequate for both defensive and offensive needs and purposes.
4) “In the evil day” (en te hemera te ponera) “In the wicked day,” the evil or dishonorable day when the battle is in full array.
5) “And having done all, to stand” (kai hapanta katergasamenoi) “And having wrought all kind of things thoroughly of your own accord or volition, to stand;” all things pertaining to your struggle, to stand when the conflict is ended — neither dislodged nor fallen in the struggle, but standing victorious as a sentry guard when the battle is over, Rom 8:37; 1Co 15:57; 1Jn 5:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. Wherefore take unto you. Though our enemy is so powerful, Paul does not infer that we must throw away our spears, but that we must prepare our minds for the battle. A promise of victory is, indeed, involved in the exhortation, that ye may be able. If we only put on the whole armor of God, and fight valiantly to the end, we shall certainly stand. On any other supposition, we would be discouraged by the number and variety of the contests; and therefore he adds, in the evil day. By this expression he rouses them from security, bids them prepare themselves for hard, painful, and dangerous conflicts, and, at the same time, animates them with the hope of victory; for amidst the greatest dangers they will be safe. And having done all. They are thus directed to cherish confidence through the whole course of life. There will be no danger which may not be successfully met by the power of God; nor will any who, with this assistance, fight against Satan, fail in the day of battle.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Eph. 6:13. In the evil day.Compare Eph. 5:16. A day of great peril. And having done all, to stand.When the hurly-burlys done to find oneself unvanquished.
Eph. 6:14. Stand therefore.The words ring short and sharp as a bugle-call. Loins girt about with truth.To speak of a well-equipped warrior without a girdle is a contradictio in adjecto, for it was just the girdle which produced the free bearing and movement and the necessary attitude of the warrior (Meyer). Truth is a subjective conception corresponding with the eternal realities (Beet). Breastplate of righteousness.As the actual warrior has protected the breast when he has laced the corslet over his chest, so with you righteousness renders your breast (heart and will) inaccessible to the hostile influence of the demons (Meyer).
He is but naked though locked up in steel
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.
Eph. 6:15. Feet shod.Ensuring agility and a firm foothold. Preparation of the gospel of peace.Preparation might perhaps give way to preparedness. St. Paul does not mind a paradox. What hast thou to do with peace? said one soldier to another; but the herald was a soldier too.
Eph. 6:16. Above all, taking the shield.Large enough to block the entrance to a doorwaybeing about four feet by two and a half. The lighter missiles were harmless against a roof of these shields over-lapped. They were of wood, thickly coated with leather. Quench the fiery darts.Arrows tipped with inflammable material, and shot off after having been kindled (Meyer).
Eph. 6:17. Take the helmet of salvation.For the large shield might leave the head exposed to the archers aim. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.How effectual in fence and thrust it was in the hands of the Captain of our salvation, the world-ruler had experienced.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Eph. 6:13-17
The Christian Warrior equipped.
I. He is clothed from head to foot with defensive armour.
1. The girdle of truth. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (Eph. 6:14). The military girdle was the belt or cincture with which the warrior braced himself round the waist, to tighten and keep every part of his armour in its true place, that there might not be anything loose and trailing about him to encumber his movements. Everything about him must be tense and firm, that he may be prepared to receive the attack of the enemy, however suddenly and powerfully made, and to act with decision and concentrated energy. So the Christian warrior must be strengthened and sustained with the girdle of truth. The truth of the gospel must be known and conscientiously embraced, so that we may detect the numerous foes that error is constantly letting loose upon us, and be able to attack and conquer them. To cast away our girdle is to incapacitate ourselves for the combat, and to expose ourselves to wounds and defeat. Conscious integrity inspires the spiritual warrior with confidence and bravery. Let this be my brazen wall, that no man can reproach me with a crime, and that I am conscious of my own integrity. On the truth we take our stand, and by the truth we stand. If we keep the truth, the truth will keep us, and we shall not be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. The luxury of agnosticism, the languors of doubt, the vague sympathies and hesitant eclecticism in which delicate and cultured minds are apt to indulge; the lofty critical attitude as of some intellectual god sitting above the strife of creeds, which others find congenialthese are conditions of mind unfit for the soldier of Christ Jesus. He must have sure knowledge, definite and decided purposesa soul girdled with truth.
2. The breastplate of righteousness.And having on the breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14). The military breastplate or cuirass was the chief piece of defensive armour. It consisted of two parts or wings: one covered the whole region of the thorax and protected the vital organs of the body, and the other covered the back as far down as the front part extended. As the breastplate guarded the vital functions contained within the region of the thorax, so righteousnessthe life of God in the soul of mandefends everything on which the spiritual existence and triumph of the Christian warrior depend. Righteousnessconscious integrity of characteris an impenetrable mail from which the missiles of the enemy fall pointless. Rectitude of life is an invulnerable defence against the most furious attacks of calumny and oppression: it is an immovable rock that breaks up the dark billows of opposition into clouds of helpless spray.
3. The greaves, or feet-guards.Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). The military greaves or brazen boots covered the shin or front of the leg. A kind of solen was often used which covered the sole and laced about the instep, preventing the foot from being wounded by thorns or rugged ways, and giving firmness and security to the foothold. Thus shod, the warrior would take his stand with safety, or move with alertness over all sorts of ground. Being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace indicates that the Christian soldier is ever ready to move with expedition and willingness in publishing the good tidings of peace. The Israelites were commanded to eat the passover with their feet shod to show that they were ready for their journey. Christ commanded His messengers to be shod with sandals, that they might be ready to go and proclaim the gospel wherever they were sent. The Christian warrior is on his way through a strange and hostile country, and should be every moment not only prepared to proceed, but be every moment in actual progress, proclaiming peace on his way to the land of eternal peace. Progress in truth is made by being firmly established in its principles; every advancing step is taken with confidence and with the air of one who is assured of the ground on which he is treading. The gospel of peace establishes peace between God and man, and proclaims goodwill and peace to the universe. The objection that the apostle is addressing the faithful at large who are not all of them called to preach the gospel is mistaken. Every believer should be prepared to witness for Christ so often as opportunity affords and needs a readiness thereto. The knowledge of Christs peace qualifies him to convey its message. He brings it with him into the strife of the world. And it is the consciousness that he possesses himself such peace, and has it to communicate to others, which enables him to walk firmly and with sure step in the way of faith (Von Hofmann). We preserve the truth by spreading it; and the best defence against the enemies of the truth is to persuade them to accept the gospel of peace. The Christian warrior is not a fighter, but a peacemaker.
4. The shield of faith.Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Eph. 6:16). The shield signified is not the small round buckler or targe of the light-armed man, but the oblong, doorlike shield, measuring four feet by two and a half, and curved to the shape of the body, that the Greek hoplite and the Roman legionary carried. Joined together, these large shields formed a wall, behind which a body of troops could hide themselves from the rain of the enemys missiles. These military shields were made of wood, covered on the outside with thick leather, which not only deadened the shock of the missile, but protected the frame of the shield from the fire-tipped darts used in the artillery of the ancients. So faith is the shield of the Christian soldier, defending him from the fierce attacks of the foe, from within and without. By the fiery darts of the wicked the apostle may allude to the darts called falarica, which were headed with lead, in or about which some combustible stuff was placed that took fire in the passage of the arrow through the air, and often burnt up the enemies ships and engines, or stuck in the shields and set them on fire. The shield of faith cannot be pierced or destroyed by the fiercest fires of hatred or malice. The arrows of the wicked, flaming with cruelty, are caught on this shield, blunted, and extinguished.
5. The helmet of salvation.And take the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17). The helmet was the armour for the head, was of various forms, and embossed with a great variety of figures. On the top of the helmet was the crest or ridge, adorned with several emblematic figures, either for ornament or to strike terror. The apostle may refer to a helmet which had an emblematic representation of hopethat the person who wore it should be safe, should be prosperous in all his engagements, and escape unhurt from battle. So the hope of conquering every adversary, and surmounting every difficulty by the salvation of the gospel, is a helmet that protects the head, and is of such impenetrable texture as the blow of the battle-axe cannot cleave. The hope of continual safety and protection, built on the promises of the gospel, protects the understanding from being confused by the subtle attacks of Satan or the sophisms of unbelief. Salvation guards the whole man, the head and heart, and is both helmet and shield.
II. He is armed with an all-potent offensive weapon.And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). The military swords were of various sizes, and in the earliest times were made of brass. The swords of Homers heroes were all of this metal. Great dexterity was acquired in the use of the sword, and an expert swordsman was an antagonist greatly dreaded. The word of God is the offensive weapon wielded by the Christian combatant. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it comes from the Holy Spirit, and receives its fulfilment in the soul through the operations of the Spirit, who alone can teach its potent use. Facility in quoting the word in times of temptation and trial enables the spiritual warrior to cut in pieces the snares of the adversary. The shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit are the principal armour of the soul. The enemies of the cross of Christ fall humiliated and defeated under the powerful strokes of the Spirits sword. There are times when the Christian soldier must not only stand on the defensive, but must lead the attack with unflinching bravery on the forces of evil. He is safe only by slaying the enemy.
III. He is fully prepared to resist and conquer his terrible opponents.Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Eph. 6:13). Stand is the spiritual battle-cry. Being armed, defend your liberties, maintain your rights, discomfort your spiritual foes, hold your ground against them, never put off your armour, but be ever standing ready to repel any new attack. The defence is necessary, for the evil day is at hand, is already dawning. The early Church had its evil day of persecution and defection, and the Church of to-day is threatened by an evil day of subtlest error. The unwary and supine will go down before the forces of evil, and only the brave and steadfast will survive.
Lessons.
1. The Christian armour is invulnerable.
2. The Christian warrior must attack as well as defend.
3. The Christian warrior can conquer only as he uses the armour provided.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Eph. 6:13-17. The Christians Armour.St. Paul lay in prison at Rome, bound with a chain to the Roman trooper who watched him day and night. He employed his prison hours in writing. It was very natural that his language, like his thoughts, should be coloured here and there by the objects around him; and we find that whilst writing this circular epistle to the Ephesians his eye had actually been resting on the soldier to whom he was chained. In the outfit of the Roman legionary he saw the symbol of the supernatural dress which befits the Christian. The ornamented girdle or balteus, bound around the loins, to which the sword was commonly attached, seemed to the apostle to recall the inward practical acknowledgment of truth, which is the first necessity in the Christian character. The metal breastplate suggests the moral rectitude or righteousness which enables a man to confront the world. The strong military sandals spoke of the readiness to march in the cause of that gospel whose sum and substance was not war, but spiritual even more than social peace. And then the large oblong, oval, wooden shield, clothed with hides, covering well-nigh the whole body of the bearer, reminded him of Christian faith, upon which the temptations of the evil one, like the ancient arrows, tipped as they often were with inflammable substances, would light harmlessly and lose their deadly point; and then the soldiers helmet, pointing upwards to the skies, was a natural figure of Christian hope directed towards a higher and better world; and then the sword at his side, by which he won safety and victory in the day of battle, and which you will observe is the one aggressive weapon mentioned in this whole cataloguewhat was it but the emblem of that word of God which wins such victories on the battle-fields of conscience, because it pierces, even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth? Thus girded, thus clad, thus shod, thus guarded, thus covered, thus armed, the Christian might well meet his foes. He was indeed more than a match for them, and might calmly await their onset.H. P. Liddon.
The Whole Armour of God.
I. Truth.Having your loins girt about with truth. By truth is intended sincerity in our Christian profession, or a firm belief of and full consent to the gospel of Christ. A rational conviction of its truth, joined with a sense of its importance, is our best security against apostasy in the evil day.
II. Righteousness.And having on the breastplate of righteousness. A holy and inoffensive life will prevent many injuries. It will command the reverence of bad and the compassion of good men. It will obtain the protection of Gods providence and the supports of His grace. It will preserve peace and serenity of conscience under the reproaches of a malignant world.
III. Peace.Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This peaceable disposition is a preparation for the trials of an evil day, and an excellent defence against the asperities of our Christian path. This will go on before us to smooth the rough passages of life, or attend us to guard our feet against the sticks and traps which our enemies cast in our way. Possessed of this disposition we shall give no offence and provoke no injuries by an insolent, overbearing behaviour.
IV. Faith.Above all, taking the shield of faith. Faith is a grace of universal influence. It is the basis of all Christian graces. It is the groundwork of all religion in the heart. Faith is a more effectual defence against the temptations of Satan and the world than the shields of the mighty against the darts and spears of their enemies.
V. Hope.And take the helmet of salvation. The hope of salvation. God brings salvation. We appropriate it by hope. We must fight the good fight of faith in hope that the Captain of salvation will support us in the conflict and lead us to victory.
VI. Knowledge.The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The divine word is called the sword of the Spirit because it is rendered effectual by the Spirit in slaying the fleshly lusts and repelling the outward temptations which war against the soul.
Reflections.
1. We see of what importance it is that we have the power of religion in our hearts.
2. It concerns us to live much in the exercise of faith.
3. Let us exercise our courage according to the various exigencies of the Christian life.Lathrop.
The Duty of Believers in the Evil Day.
I. The time to which the exhortation refersthe evil day.
1. By the evil day we are clearly to understand the season of temptation. When we wrestle.
2. This evil day may be understood of life itself.Few and evil have been the days of my pilgrimage. Man is tempted till his death.
3. The evil day may refer to seasons during which temptation is peculiarly strong.With our first parents whilst they listened to Satan. With Christ in the wildernessnear death (Joh. 14:30).
4. Of such seasons we have many examples in Scripture.The lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Lot, Samson, David, Asa, Hezekiah, Peter, Demas.
5. Such seasons each believer can mark in his history.They are generally turning-points. They are attended by every variety of outward circumstances, prosperity, adversity, society, solitude, health, sickness.
6. With the wicked such days are evil.Days of suffering, of danger, of backsliding, of apostasy, of dishonour to Christ, and triumph to the world and to all the enemies of Christ.
7. This season of temptation is short.A day. We should not grow weary.
8. Though it be short it is important.The day of battle is generally most important in its results. So in spiritual warfare. The temptation in Eden, etc.
II. The duty which falls to be performed in the evil day.
1. To withstand.
(1) This has reference to Satan as an assailant.
(2) It binds us to resistance, i.e., to perform the duty from which Satan dissuades, to refuse the sin which he recommends, to hold fast that which we have, and to reject that which he offers in exchange (Rev. 3:2).
2. To proceed from the defensive to the offensive.Having done all, or conquered all.
(1) The believer, as the good soldier of Christ, is, like his Master, to be an assailant.
(2) By attacking, Satan discovers himself; and the believer, having resisted, may gain an advantage. When his stronghold in the heart is found out, it may be pulled down. Is it pride? (2Co. 10:4-5).
(3) Satan can be contended against only by carrying on an offensive warfarein the heart, in the world. The Romans could be conquered only in Italy.
3. That having resisted and conquered, we still stand.
(1) Though repulsed, Satan is not slain, his resources are not exhausted, his wrath continues.
(2) We must therefore stand after victory. Our armour must be kept on. We must be vigilant. We must be in an attitude for the fight.
III. The preparation necessary to the performance of the peculiar duties of the evil day.
1. The evil day is a day of war, and hence its duties and the kind of preparation called for.
2. There are three things to be noticed in the account of the believers preparation.
(1) He must be armeddivine grace. An unarmed soldier a contradiction; he is useless for duty, exposed to death.
(2) He must be completely armed. For defence and for offence.
(3) His armour must be that of God. Human virtues will not do. Human energies will not do.Stewart.
Eph. 6:14. The Girdle of Truth.
I. Honesty and truthfulness of character.Love of truth as being from God, hatred of lies as being from the devilthis is a primary condition of being strong in the Lord. Nothing can be more injurious to the character of the Christian religion than the suspicion that it shuns examination, that its claims are in antagonism with demonstrated truth. There is a kind of false liberalism concerning religious truth. It is easy for a man to fancy his loins are girt about with truth when the fact is they are girt about with indifference; and a person so armed may assume an attitude of impartiality with regard to religious questions because he cares nothing concerning the issue; and sometimes it seems to be assumed that a writer possesses a virtue, compensating for all vices, if he is apparently free from all bias either for or against revealed truth. The true path is taken by him who, strong in his own faith and love, fears no honest investigation, and shrinks from adopting in matters of religion any tone of thought or line of argument which he cannot justify upon the broadest grounds of calm judgment and sober reason.
II. But the words of the apostle refer not only to truthfulness, but to truth itself, to that which we know to be true.It would be unworthy of an apostle if he should include under the title of truth, necessary for the protection of a Christian champion, all human knowledge which is rightly so called. Do not consider that the progress you make in human knowledge lies beside your path as Christians. As members of Christ, as His soldiers and servants, take a nobler view of your work than that. Christ has taken the elements of this world and sanctified them for Himself; there is nothing really secular but what is evil, and all that is not evil ought to be used on the side of truth.
III. The apostle has in mind that definite form of revealed truth which in Scripture is described as emphatically the truth.The great doctrine of godliness, the incarnation of the eternal Son, and all those truths which flow from this one mysterious spring. While there is no antagonism between Scriptural and human knowledge, there is a wide difference between the sources from which they are derived, the evidences by which they are established, and the conditions of their being rightly apprehended. Whereas other knowledge is the slow accumulation of the experience of ages, and the result of the guesses and labours of gifted men, and is consequently an ever-growing and changing body of truth, Christian truth admits of no change and no growth. It admits of application to new circumstances; it admits too of growth, between the limits of a mustard seed and a full-grown tree, in its subjective apprehension by each believing heart; but objectively it knows neither diminution nor expansion, it is ever one and indivisible, because it resolves itself ultimately into the one great mysterious fact, the manifestation of God in human flesh. No amount of argument would ever turn religious belief into religious life, if the articles of the creed did not attest their divinity by filling up the void of the human heart and by their constraining influence on human conduct; and, on the other hand, no religion could maintain its ground and command the assent of thinking men, unless its historical claims and its objective truth would stand the test of the severest scrutiny. The truth of Christ rests upon both grounds; and because this is so we are bound to gird it about our loins as our only sure support in our conflict with the spiritual wickedness of this world, our support in the hour of death, our support in the day of judgment.Harvey Goodwin.
Truth the Girdle of the Christian.
I. The particular grace which is here mentionedtruth.
1. By this exhortation we might understand that we must in all things act according to truth or what is truth. This implies the knowledge of truth, the yielding up of ourselves to truth, so as to embody it.
2. By the truth we may understand sincerity.Being in appearance what we are in reality, seeming to follow what we do follow, expressing the real thoughts and feelings of the heart. This sincerity is displayed towards God, towards our fellow-men, and towards ourselves.
II. The uses or purposes of truth in the Christian life: it is a girdle.By comparing truth to a girdle the apostle suggests the purposes which it serves:
1. The ancient girdle was meant to give firmness and strength.
2. To fit for activity, by binding up the loose, flowing garments.
3. To the girdle arms were attached.Stewart.
Eph. 6:15. The Gospel of Peace.
I. The nature of this peace.
1. It is peace with God.A mutual reconciliation following a mutual estrangement.
2. It is peace with ourselves.This includes both the silencing of the accusations of conscience and the restoration of the internal harmony of our nature.
3. It is peace with our fellow-men.Between nations and classes, and families and individuals.
4. It is peace with our fellow-Christians.
II. The relation of the gospel to this peace.
1. In the gospel it is proclaimed.
2. In the gospel its grounds are unfolded.
3. By the belief of the gospel it is conveyed.G. Brooks.
Eph. 6:17. The Bible the Sword of the Spirit.
I. The Bible is a sword.
1. Like a sword, it is of no use till it is unsheathed. The Bible must not lie idle in the library or in the intellect. Must be used.
2. Like a sword, when it is unsheathed it cuts deeply.Makes deep gashes in the heart and conscience.
3. Like a sword, it is a weapon of defence as well as of offence.It is written.
II. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit.
1. Because He inspired it. Those whom we call the sacred writers were its penmen; He alone was its Author.
2. Because He interprets it.Its Author is also itsinterpreter. Wherever it is carried He is. and in answer to the prayer of faith He expounds its true meaning as far as saving truth is concerned.
3. Because He wields it as the instrument of His victories.Refer to some of the remarkable revivals, to individual conversions.
III. Our duty with regard to the Bible as the sword of the Spirit.
1. Take it and study it. Sword exercise.
2. Take it and bind it to your heart.Delight in it.
3. Take it and employ it vigorously till your lifes end.His sword was in His hand. There is none like it.Ibid.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13) In the evil day.Comp. Eph. 5:15, Because the days are evil. The evil day is any day of which it may be said in our Lords words, This is your hour, and the power of darkness (Luk. 22:53). In this life all days may be evil, but, except to the reprobate, none wholly evil; for out of evil all things work together for good.
Having done all, to stand.The rendering (see Chrysostom) having overcome all is tempting, but does not accord with St. Pauls use of the original word. The exhortation is first to withstand, i.e., to resist all distinct attacks; then, when in this we have done all that we are from time to time called to do, to stand, i.e., to plant our feet firmly on the rock, being steadfast and unmovable (1Co. 15:58). The one conveys the idea of bravery and activity; the other of calm, well-balanced steadfastness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Wherefore In view of the supernatural powers you have to encounter. Surely a divine armour, and the whole we can use, are necessary for a supernatural battle. Of the whole armour St. Paul mentions six pieces; four fixed in contact upon the body, namely: the girdle or belt, breastplate, sandals, and helmet; and two in the hands, the shield and the sword. All are protective but the last. And he mentions them in the order in which the warrior would be apt to put them on for battle. First, as preliminary to all easy action, he binds his loose tunic in the girdle, then puts the breastplate or coat of mail upon his chest. Then taking his shield in his left hand, with his right hand he first puts on his helmet, and then, taking his sword, is ready for the battle. Paul’s soldier is thoroughly protected, save that the legs do not seem to have their greaves or buskins.
In the evil day Wherever or whenever the evil day comes, and whether it consist of adversity, temptation, or onslaughts of infidel advocates. Having done all of duty, whether of arming or fighting. To stand firmly and perpendicularly; in contrast with falling, running, or being captured. But, in fact, in this battle the only failure is cowardice or apostasy; he who truly fights is never conquered. He is sure, after the rush of battle has past, to stand. Just so in our national ballad, after the night of cannonade is over, and the morning dawns ”that flag is still there.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Because of this take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’
Such foes demonstrate the importance of being clothed in the armour of God, so we must ensure that we put it on. Indeed we have the responsibility of putting it on, and much Christian failure lies in our failure to do so adequately, for the enemy will attack the parts that are unprotected. We need ‘the whole armour’.
‘To withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ The battle may not appear to be continuous. There will be seemingly quiet days, the phoney war. But at other times the attack will be ferocious and we will have to withstand firmly, and having repelled the attacks again and again we will have to go on standing for the attacks will go on until the relief forces arrive and Christ comes for His own. And our certainty of survival lies in the armour of God.
The importance of the armour is demonstrated by its content. Truth as a belt, righteousness as a breastplate, the good news of peace for boots, faith as a shield, salvation as a helmet, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, as a means of defence and attack. These weapons, we are told elsewhere, are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2Co 10:4).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eph 6:13 . ] because we have to fight against these powers.
] the usual word for the taking up of armour . See Kypke and Wetstein. The opposite: .
] namely, the assaults of the demons.
] The evil day means here, according to the context, neither the present life (Chrysostom, Oecumenius, who at the same time believed to be hinted at), nor the day of death (Erasmus Schmid), nor the day of judgment (Jerome); nor yet, as most expositors suppose, in general the day of conflict and of peril, which the devil prepares for us (so also Rckert, Harless, Matthies, Meier, Winzer, Baumgarten-Crusius, de Wette, Bleek), for every day was such, whereas the evil day here manifestly appears as a peculiar and still future day, for the conflict of which the readers were to arm themselves. Hence also not: every day, on which the devil has special power (Bengel, Zachariae, Olshausen); but the emphatic designation could suggest to the reader only a single, morally evil, day well known to him, and that is the day in which the Satanic power ( ) puts forth its last and greatest outbreak , which last outbreak of the anti-Christian kingdom Paul expected shortly before the Parousia (see Usteri, Lehrbegriff , p. 348 ff.). Comp. also the , Gal 1:4 , and the remark thereon.
] This corresponds to the preceding , of which it is the result ; and in the midst, between and , lies .: “ to withstand in the evil day, and, after you shall have accomplished all things, to stand .” The latter expression is the designation of the victor, who, after the fight is finished, is not laid prostrate, or put to flight, but stands . Comp. Xen. Anab. i. 10. 1. What is meant by , is necessarily yielded by the connection, namely, everything which belongs to the conflict in question , the whole work of the combat in all its parts and actions. The retains its ordinary signification peragere, conficere, consummare (comp. van Hengel, ad Rom. I. p. 205), and is not, with Oecumenius, Theophylact, Camerarius, Beza, Grotius, Calovius, Kypke, Koppe, Flatt, Holzhausen, Harless, Olshausen, de Wette, Bleek, and others, to be taken in the sense of debellare, overpower , in which sense it is, like the German abthun and niedermachen and the Latin conficere , usual enough (see Kypke, II. p. 301), but is never so employed by Paul frequently as the word occurs with him or elsewhere in the N.T., and here would only be required by the text, if were the reading. [307] De Wette objects to our interpretation as being tame. This, however, it is not, and the less so, because is the characteristic word for a great and difficult work (Herod. v. 24; Plato, Legg. iii. p. 686 E, al. ; and see Fritzsche, ad Rom. I. p. 107), and also is purposely chosen ( all without exception ; see Valckenaer, Schol . I. p. 339). To be rejected also is the construction of Erasmus, Beza (who proposes this explanation alongside of the rendering prostratis , and is inclined to regard it as the better one), Calixtus, Morus, Rosenmller, and others: “ omnibus rebus probe comparatis ad pugnam ” (Bengel). This would be (1Co 14:8 ), and what a redundant thought would thus result, especially since would then be not at all different from ! Lastly, the translation of the Vulgate, which is best attested critically: in omnibus perfecti (comp. Lucifer, Ambrosiaster, Pelagius), is not to be regarded, with Estius, as the sense of our reading, but expresses the reading , which is, moreover, to be found in a vitiated form ( ) in codex A. Erasmus conjectured a corruption of the Latin codices.
[307] Koppe felt this, hence he viewed as masculine , in accordance with Kypke’s proposal! Even in those passages which Kypke adduces for , instead of . , is to be left in the neuter sense , and . is to complete, to execute . Freely, but correctly in accordance with the sense, Luther renders: “that ye may perform all well, and keep the field.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ver. 13. That ye may be able to withstand ] Not seeking to resist Satan’s craft with craft, fraud with fraud, sed per apertum martem, but by open defiance. He shoots, saith Greenham, with Satan in his own bow, who thinks by disputing and reasoning to put him off. To argue the case with him is but, as the proverb hath it, to light a candle to the devil. Button up his mouth therefore, as our Saviour did, Mar 1:25 , and buckle close to him and he will fly, Jas 4:7 , for he is but a coward.
” Est leo si fugias; si stas, quasi musca recedit. “
And having done all to stand ] Charles V while he was putting on his armour looked pale, and seemed fearful; but when once armed, he was bold as a lion, and feared no colours.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13 .] Wherefore (since our foes are in power too mighty for us, and in dwelling, around and above us) take up (i.e. not ‘to the battle,’ but ‘to put on:’ ‘frequens est de armis;’ Kypke in loc. He refers to Diod. Sic. xx. 33, , and many places in Josephus. See also Wetst.) the entire armour of God (see on Eph 6:11 ) that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day (not as Chrys., for then the evil day would be upon the Christian before he has on the armour; the of Chr., if taken literally, would be but a poor posture of defence. Nor again can his view stand, , , evidently no such point is raised in the following exhortations, but rather the contrary is implied a long and weary conflict. The right interpretation is well given by Bengel “Bellum est perpetuum: pugna alio die minus, alio magis fervet. Dies malus , vel ingruente morte, vel in vita: longior, brevior, in se ipso spe varius, ubi Malus vos invadit, et copi malign vos infestant, Eph 6:12 ”), and having accomplished all things (requisite to the combat: being fully equipped and having bravely fought. The words must not be taken in the sense of, ‘ omnibus debellatis ,’ as if = (so Chrys. , . . ), nor again, understood of preparation only (= , 1Co 14:8 ) as Erasm., Beza, Bengel, al. To finish, or accomplish, is the invariable Pauline usage of the word when taken in a good sense) to stand firm (at your post: as Estius, reporting others, ‘ut posteaquam omnia qu boni militis sunt, perfeceritis, stare et subsistere possitis:’ that you may not, after having done your duty well in battle, fall off, but stand your ground to the end. The other interpretation, ‘stare tanquam triumphatores,’ is precluded by what has been said above).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 6:13 . : wherefore take up the whole armour of God . , i.e. , because your enemies are such as these. is the accepted term for taking up arms, as is for laying them down (Deu 1:41 ; Jer 26:3 ). : that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day . The object of the , viz. , the powers of evil, is left to be understood. The is inadequately interpreted as the day of death (E. Schmid); the day of judgment (Jer.); the present life (Chrys., Oec., etc.) which would rather have been ; or the whole period of conflict prepared for us by Satan (Rck., Harl., De Wette, Bleek, etc.). Regard must be had to the definiteness given to the by the article, which marks it out as in some sense or other a single day, a critical day, a time of peculiar peril and trial. Hence the choice must be between the time immediately preceding the Parousia , the searching day of the future in which the powers of evil will make their last and greatest effort (Meyer, etc.), and the day of violent temptation and assault , whenever that may come to us during the present time (Ell., etc.), “any day of which it may be said, ‘this is your hour, and the power of darkness’ ” (Barry; so also Abb.). The latter view is on the whole to be preferred. : and having done all, to stand . In A we have the variant , a misspelling for or for . The Vulg. renders in omnibus perfecti (following perhaps the reading ). Some make it = “having prepared all things for the conflict” (Erasm., Beza, etc.); but that would be expressed by some such form as (1Co 14:8 ). Others give it the sense of overpowering (Oec., Chrys., Harl., etc.; cf. “overcome” in AV margin) a sense which it has, but not in the NT, as far as appears, and which will not suit the neut. ( ) here. There is no reason to depart from the ordinary sense of the verb, viz. , that of perficere ( cf. Plato, Laws , iii., p. 686 E; Herod., v., 24, etc.), doing thoroughly, working out , especially (the being intensive) accomplishing a difficult task. Applied to things evil or dishonourable this becomes perpetrare . These are the senses which it has in the NT generally and in the Pauline writings in particular (Rom 7:15 ; Rom 7:17 ; 2Co 12:12 ; Phi 2:12 , etc.; and in the sense of perpetrating , Rom 1:27 ; Rom 2:9 ; 1Co 5:3 ; 1Pe 4:3 ). The refers obviously to the conflict in view, and means “all things pertaining to your struggle”. The , in contrast with the or withstanding , denotes the final result; the ability to withstand when the fight is on is to be sought with a view to holding one’s position when the conflict is at an end, neither dislodged nor felled, but standing victorious at one’s post.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
EPHESIANS
THE PANOPLY OF GOD
Eph 6:13
The military metaphor of which this verse is the beginning was obviously deeply imprinted on Paul’s mind. It is found in a comparatively incomplete form in his earliest epistle, the first to the Thessalonians, in which the children of the day are exhorted to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. It reappears, in a slightly varied form, in the Epistle to the Romans, where those whose salvation is nearer than when they believed, are exhorted, because the day is at hand, to cast off, as it were, their night-gear, and to put on the ‘armour of light’; and here, in this Epistle of the Captivity, it is most fully developed. The Roman legionary, to whom Paul was chained, here sits all unconsciously for his portrait, every detail of which is pressed by Paul into the service of his vivid imagination; the virtues and graces of the Christian character, which are ‘the armour of light,’ are suggested to the Apostle by the weapon which the soldier by his side wore. The vulgarest and most murderous implements assume a new character when looked upon with the eyes of a poet and a Christian. Our present text constitutes the general introduction to the great picture which follows, of ‘the panoply of God.’
I. We must be ready for times of special assaults from evil.
Most of us feel but little the stern reality underlying the metaphor, that the whole Christian life is warfare, but that in that warfare there are crises, seasons of special danger. The interpretation which makes the ‘evil day’ co-extensive with the time of life destroys the whole emphasis of the passage: whilst all days are days of warfare, there will be, as in some prolonged siege, periods of comparative quiet; and again, days when all the cannon belch at once, and scaling ladders are reared on every side of the fortress. In a long winter there are days sunny and calm followed, as they were preceded, by days when all the winds are let loose at once. For us, such times of special danger to Christian character may arise from temporal vicissitudes. Joy and prosperity are as sure to occasion them as are sorrows, for to Paul the ‘evil day’ is that which especially threatens moral and spiritual character, and these may be as much damaged by the bright sunshine of prosperity as by the midwinter of adversity, just as fierce sunshine may be as fatal as killing frost. They may also arise, without any such change in circumstances, from some temptation coming with more than ordinary force, and directed with terrible accuracy to our weakest point.
These evil days are ever wont to come on us suddenly; they are heralded by no storm signals and no falling barometer. We may be like soldiers sitting securely round their camp fire, till all at once bullets begin to fall among them. The tiger’s roar is the first signal of its leap from the jungle. Our position in the world, our ignorance of the future, the heaped-up magazines of combustibles within, needing only a spark, all lay us open to unexpected assaults, and the temptation comes stealthily, ‘as a thief in the night.’ Nothing is so certain as the unexpected. For these reasons, then, because the ‘evil day’ will certainly come, because it may come at any time, and because it is most likely to come ‘when we look not for it,’ it is the dictate of plain common sense to be prepared. If the good man of the house had known at what hour the thief would have come, he would have watched; but he would have been a wiser man if he had watched all the more, because he did not know at what hour the thief would come.
II. To withstand these we must be armed against them before they come.
The main point of the exhortation is this previous preparation. It is clear enough that it is no time to fly to our weapons when the enemy is upon us. Aldershot, not the battlefield, is the place for learning strategy. Belshazzar was sitting at his drunken feast while the Persians were marching on Babylon, and in the night he was slain. When great crises arise in a nation’s history, some man whose whole life has been preparing him for the hour starts to the front and does the needed work. If a sailor put off learning navigation till the wind was howling and a reef lay ahead, his corpse would be cast on the cruel rocks. It is well not to be ‘over-exquisite,’ to cast the fashion of ‘uncertain evils,’ but certain ones cannot be too carefully anticipated, nor too sedulously prepared for.
The manner in which this preparation is to be carried out is distinctly marked here. The armour is to be put on before the conflict begins. Now, without anticipating what will more properly come in considering subsequent details, we may notice that such a previous assumption implies mainly two things-a previous familiarity with God’s truth, and a previous exercise of Christian virtues. As to the former, the subsequent context speaks of taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and of having the loins girt with truth, which may be objective truth. As to the latter, we need not elaborate the Apostle’s main thought that resistance to sudden temptations is most vigorous when a man is accustomed to goodness. One of the prophets treats it as being all but impossible that they who have been accustomed to evil shall learn to do well, and it is at least not less impossible that they who have been accustomed to do well shall learn to do evil. Souls which habitually walk in the clear spaces of the bracing air on the mountains of God will less easily be tempted down to the shut-in valleys where malaria reigns. The positive exercise of Christian graces tends to weaken the force of temptation. A mind occupied with these has no room for it. Higher tastes are developed which makes the poison sweetness of evil unsavoury, and just as the Israelites hungered for the strong, coarse-smelling leeks and garlic of Egypt, and therefore loathed ‘this light bread,’ so they whose palates have been accustomed to manna will have little taste for leeks and garlic. The mental and spiritual activity involved in the habitual exercise of Christian virtues will go far to make the soul unassailable by evil. A man, busily occupied, as the Apostle would have us to be, may be tempted by the devil, though less frequently the more he is thus occupied; but one who has no such occupations and interests tempts the devil. If our lives are inwardly and secretly honeycombed with evil, only a breath will be needed to throw down the structure. It is possible to become so accustomed to the calm delights of goodness, that it would need a moral miracle to make a man fall into sin.
III. To be armed with this armour, we must get it from God.
Though it consists mainly of habitudes and dispositions of our own minds, none the less have we to receive these from above. It is ‘the panoply of God,’ therefore we are to be endued with it, not by exercises in our own strength, but by dependence on Him. In old days, before a squire was knighted, he had to keep a vigil in the chapel of the castle, and through the hours of darkness to watch his armour and lift his soul to God, and we shall never put on the armour of light unless in silence we draw near to Him who teaches our hands to war and our fingers to fight. Communion with Christ, and only communion with Christ, receives from Him the life which enables us to repel the diseases of our spirits. What He imparts to those who thus wait upon Him, and to them only, is the Spirit which helps their infirmities and clothes their undefended nakedness with a coat of mail. If we go forth to war with evil, clothed and armed only with what we can provide, we shall surely be worsted in the fray. If we go forth into the world of struggle from the secret place of the Most High, ‘no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper,’ and we shall be more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
But waiting on God to receive our weapons from Him is but part of what is needful for our equipment. It is we who have to gird our loins and put on the breastplate, and shoe our feet, and take the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. The cumbrous armour of old days could only be put on by the help of another pulling straps, and fixing buckles, and lifting and bracing heavy shields on arms, and fastening helmets upon heads; but we have, by our own effort, to clothe ourselves with God’s great gift, which is of no use to us, and is in no real sense ours, unless we do. It takes no small effort to keep ourselves in the attitude of dependence and receptivity, without which none of the great gifts of God come to us, and, least of all, the habitual practice of Christian virtues. The soldier who rushed into the fight, leaving armour and arms huddled together on the ground, would soon fall, and God’s giving avails nothing for our defence unless there is also our taking. It is the woful want of taking the things that are freely given to us of God, and of making our own what by His gift is our own, that is mainly responsible for the defeats of which we are all conscious. Looking back on our own evil days, we must all be aware that our defeats have mainly come from one or other of the two errors which lie so near us all, and which are intimately connected with each other-the one being that of fighting in our own strength, and the other being that of leaving unused our God-given power.
IV. The issue of successful resistance is increased firmness of footing.
If we are able to ‘withstand in the evil day,’ we shall ‘stand’ more securely when the evil day has stormed itself away. If we keep erect in the shock of battle, we shall stand more secure when the wild charge has been beaten back. The sea hurls tons of water against the slender lighthouse on the rock, and if it stands, the smashing of the waves consolidates it. The reward of firm resistance is increased firmness. As the Red Indians used to believe that the strength of the slain enemies whom they had scalped passed into their arms, so we may have power developed by conflict, and we shall more fully understand, and more passionately believe in, the principles and truths which have served us in past fights. David would not wear Saul’s armour because, as he said, ‘I have not proved it,’ and the Christian who has come victoriously through one struggle should be ready to say, ‘I have proved it’; we have the word of the Lord, which is tried, to trust to, and not we only, but generations, have tested it, and it has stood the tests. Therefore, it is not for us to hesitate as to the worth of our weapons, or to doubt that they are more than sufficient for every conflict which we may be called upon to wage.
The text plainly implies that all our life long we shall be in danger of sudden assaults. It does contemplate victory in the evil day, but it also contemplates that after we have withstood, we have still to stand and be ready for another attack to-morrow. Our life here is, and must still be, a continual warfare. Peace is not bought by any victories; ‘There is no discharge in that war.’ Like the ten thousand Greeks who fought their way home through clouds of enemies from the heart of Asia, we are never safe till we come to the mountain-top, where we can cry, ‘The Sea!’ But though all our paths lead us through enemies, we have Jesus, who has conquered them all, with us, and our hearts should not fail so long as we can hear His brave voice encouraging us: ‘In the world ye have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Wherefore = On account of (Greek. dia) this.
take unto you = take up.
withstand. Greek. anthistemi. See Rom 9:19.
the evil day. Perpetually, because the days are evil; Eph 5:16. Compare Gal 1:1, Gal 1:4.
done. Greek. katergazomai. See Rom 1:27.
stand = stand (fast). Greek. histemi. Compare 2Th 2:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13.] Wherefore (since our foes are in power too mighty for us,-and in dwelling, around and above us) take up (i.e. not to the battle, but to put on: frequens est de armis; Kypke in loc. He refers to Diod. Sic. xx. 33, ,-and many places in Josephus. See also Wetst.) the entire armour of God (see on Eph 6:11) that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day (not as Chrys., -for then the evil day would be upon the Christian before he has on the armour; the of Chr., if taken literally, would be but a poor posture of defence. Nor again can his view stand, , , -evidently no such point is raised in the following exhortations, but rather the contrary is implied-a long and weary conflict. The right interpretation is well given by Bengel-Bellum est perpetuum: pugna alio die minus, alio magis fervet. Dies malus, vel ingruente morte, vel in vita: longior, brevior, in se ipso spe varius, ubi Malus vos invadit, et copi malign vos infestant, Eph 6:12), and having accomplished all things (requisite to the combat: being fully equipped and having bravely fought. The words must not be taken in the sense of, omnibus debellatis, as if = (so Chrys.–, . . ), nor again, understood of preparation only (= , 1Co 14:8) as Erasm., Beza, Bengel, al. To finish, or accomplish, is the invariable Pauline usage of the word when taken in a good sense) to stand firm (at your post: as Estius, reporting others,-ut posteaquam omnia qu boni militis sunt, perfeceritis, stare et subsistere possitis:-that you may not, after having done your duty well in battle, fall off, but stand your ground to the end. The other interpretation, stare tanquam triumphatores, is precluded by what has been said above).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 6:13. , take unto you) Eph 6:16 Deu 1:41, LXX. .- , the whole armour) A lofty expression. Paul (says Vict. Strigelius, in summing up the contents of this chapter) gives to the Christian soldier integuments, defences, and offensive weapons. The integuments are three, the breastplate, the girdle, and the shoes; the defences or are two, the shield and the helmet; the offensive weapons, ,[100] are also two, the sword and the spear. He had regard, I think, to the order of putting them on, and held the opinion that Paul proceeds from those accoutrements which adorn the man even when outside of the battle-field (as the breastplate of any material whatever), to those which are peculiar to the soldier; and indeed the phrase above all is put in between integuments and defences. He adds the spear, prayer. Although Paul rather introduces prayer with this reference, viz. that we may rightly [duly] use the whole armour.- , in the evil day) Psa 41:2, LXX. . The war is perpetual. The battle rages less on one day, more on another: the evil day, either when death assails us, or during life, being of longer or shorter duration, often varying in itself [When the wicked one assails you, Eph 6:16, and malignant forces are infesting you, Eph 6:12.-V. g.]. Then you must stand, you must not then at length [then for the first time begin to] make preparation.- ) having rightly prepared all things for the battle. So , 2Co 5:5 [ , He who hath wrought, i.e. prepared us]; Exo 15:17; Exo 35:33; Exo 38:24; Deu 28:39. The repetition[101] is very suitable, to stand, stand ye.
[100] Usually said of defensive, here evidently of offensive weapons.-ED.
[101] Anadiplosis, the repetition of the same word in the end of the preceding, and in the beginning of the following member. Append.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 6:13
Eph 6:13
Wherefore take up the whole armor of God,-Having all these wicked spirits to fight, he admonishes them to take unto themselves the whole armor of God. [The repetition of the counsel given emphasizes its importance. The language used distinguishes it from all maimer of merely human precautions, defenses, or disciplines. It is a special provision for the believer in response to his prayerful trust in God.]
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,-The commandment to be strong in the Lord is fully associated with our having done all, because leaning on almighty strength implies the effort to put forth strength by our own instrumentality; when Gods strength comes to us it constrains us to do all that can be done by us or through us, as Paul exhorted: “So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.” (Php 2:12-13). [We are to leave nothing undone that can contribute to the success of the battle; then we shall be able to stand, or stand firm.]
and, having done all, to stand.-It is important to bear in mind through the whole context that the central idea is preparedness, not progress or conquest; ideas of which the gospel is full, but which are not present here. [The scene is filled with the marshalled hosts of the evil one, bent upon dislodging the Christian from the one possible vantage ground of life and power-union and communion with the Lord.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Finally, Be Strong in the Lord
Eph 6:13-24
Many would be strong, but fail because they forget that they can be effectively so only in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Paul had a very vivid conception of the powerful forces that are arrayed against the Church. He is not dealing here especially with our personal temptations, but with those hosts of wicked spirits that lie behind the evil of the world. It is probable that the vast systems which oppose the gospel-the philosophies, temples, and priests of false religions; the trade in strong drink, impurity, and like evils; and such iniquitous institutions as the system of indentured slavery-are directly promoted and furthered by the agency of evil spirits in arms against God.
We must be pure and holy, if we are to prevail against evil; and especially must we give ourselves to prayer. To prevail in this warfare we must diligently employ the weapon of all prayer. Tychicus carried this letter. He was faithful to the end, Act 20:4; 2Ti 4:12. The Epistle closes, as it began, with uncorrupted, that is, pure and eternal, love. Alford says, This is the only truth worthy to be the crown and climax of this glorious Epistle.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
The Whole Armor of God (Eph 6:13-17)
As we have considered the Christians conflict we have found that since it is not with flesh and blood, nor is it with our own carnal nature, we need to be clothed with the whole armor of God. This armor is very different from the garments in which we stand before God through grace. Every one of us who has put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ has been clothed in the righteousness of God- He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isa 61:10). The best robe is His. We stand before God in Christ, but we do not put this robe on ourselves. God has clothed us. But when it comes to the armor for war, we ourselves need to put on each separate piece in order to stand firm in the evil days when the hosts of Hell are attacking our souls and it seems as though we would be defeated. We are not to turn our backs and flee from the foe. We are not to act on the human presumption that he who fights and runs away may live to fight another day. Rather, we are to face the foe, for there is no armor provided for the back. If we turn our backs and retreat, we expose ourselves to the fiery darts of the wicked one. But as we face the foe unflinchingly in the power of the finished work of Calvary we will be able to stand.
And having done all, to stand. Where and how do we stand? Is it simply by determination of our own, in some goodness of our own? Not at all. We stand in the perfection of Christs finished work. The foe cannot harm us there. We meet the enemy in the name of Christ the victor, and we claim the victory because Christ has already defeated him on the cross. There Satan bruised the heel of our divine Redeemer, but his own head was bruised, and now we are entitled to consider the devil as one already defeated. But, though he knows he is defeated and his doom is sure, he will do everything he can to harass and distress the Christian as long as he is in this world. Therefore we need to stand strong in faith, and resist the devil in the power of the cross of Christ.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. This verse alludes to the long flowing garments worn in many oriental cultures. While perfectly comfortable when worn for leisure, the garments must be drawn about the waist, and held in by a girdle or belt during strenuous movement or conflict so as not to hinder progress. In the same way, you and I as believers are to have our loins girt about with truth. What does this mean? Elsewhere we read, Gird up the loins of your mind (1Pe 1:13). Just as the Orientals flowing garments were to be tightly fastened that they may not be blown around by the wind, so we are to have our minds surrounded with truth in order that our imaginations may not be carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Eph 4:14). We are to prepare our minds for action, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2Co 10:5). In other words, our minds are to be controlled by what God has spoken, not by what we think or hear in the world. Our thoughts are to be brought into subjection to His holy Word.
I wish Christians would come back to the Bible. I am often distressed when people ask me, What do you think about this, or what do you think about that? I have to tell them, It does not make any difference what I think. My thoughts do not amount to anything. The great question is, What has God said? What is written in the Word? If Gods Word does not speak on a particular subject, we have no right to attempt to speak, but where it has given a clear definite declaration, we should be positive and sure in our faith. How important it is that our thoughts are in harmony with Gods Word when we have to face the devil. Satan works through wily error, presenting all kinds of false systems and views, and maligning the name of Christ. It is only as our minds are controlled by the Word that we will be able to counter these false teachings. The better you know the Bible, the better fitted you are to meet the assaults of the enemy, and yet some of you have never even read your Bible through once. Perhaps you have never gotten beyond the genealogies. You came right up to them and stopped. You never went any farther. You did not know that hidden in those genealogical chapters there are some of the most beautiful little gems you will find anywhere in the Bible. You will miss them if you are not careful.
A friend of mine used to tell of listening to Andrew Bonar many years ago. Dr. Bonar was speaking on Heaven and the great reunion of loved ones over there. In his eloquent way he pictured the believer newly come from earth walking along the golden street and suddenly meeting a group of Old Testament prophets. In a moment he recognizes them and says, Why, this is Ezekiel; isnt it?
Yes, says Ezekiel, I am so glad to meet you.
And this is Micah and Zechariah and Amos.
And then Ezekiel says, Oh, you know about me, do you? How did you like the book I wrote?
Book? What book was that?
Oh, surely you remember my book! Did you enjoy it?
I am sorry to say I never read it.
And then Micah says, And what did you think of my book?
Let me see; was that in the Old Testament or in the New Testament? It seems to me I remember there was such a book.
Bonar continued, How would you feel to meet these men when you never have read their books?
Some of you had better get busy. There is far too much time spent in reading novels and newspapers, and too little time given to the Word of God. Good literature is fine, reading the newspaper is all right, but these things should not crowd out time for reading Gods Word. Remember, the Bible is the only Book that will last for all eternity, and anything you can get out of it here you will have for all the ages to come.
The next piece of armor we are to have on is the breastplate of righteousness. The Bible suggests two types of righteousness. The first is that righteousness which is imputed to every believer in the Lord Jesus. It is a glorious truth that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2Co 5:21). But that is not the righteousness referred to here. You and I do not put on the righteousness of God. God does that for us. But the breastplate of righteousness is something we are to put on. The apostle evidently had in mind Isaiah chapter 59, which refers to a practical righteousness:
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke (Isa 59:16-17).
In these verses Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah, our blessed Lord. He came into this world as a man and was obedient to the will of God. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and now you and I are called to imitate Him by putting on the breastplate of righteousness.
The breastplate covers the heart of the man, and when we think of the heart we think of the conscience. Unless you as a Christian keep a good conscience in daily living, you will never be able to defeat your foe. When the devil comes against you, and you know there is some hidden, unconfessed sin in your life, you will fall and will not be able to stand against him. Many a person has failed when Satan made a tremendous assault on him. People said, Wasnt it sad?-such a failure and coming so suddenly. But it was not sudden, for there had been an undermining going on weeks and months and perhaps years-little sins indulged in here and there, unholy thoughts, wicked things going on that were not dealt with in the presence of God. Finally, when the enemy attacked in full force there was an exposed heart because righteousness had not been put on as the breastplate. If you are witnessing to the unsaved, and they know that you do not have on the breastplate of righteousness, your testimony will not amount to very much. You may say to a friend, I would like you to come to church with me, and he may say to you, I dont know, Jack! It doesnt seem to have done very much for you. He has been watching you day by day in your work and has seen that you are just as irritable, impatient, and rude as others, and he says, You may talk about good meetings at your church, but I do not see that they have done much for you. You are not wearing the breastplate of righteousness. If you want to win in this battle, you must practice righteousness. Your life must be clean- there must not be hidden sin, or unholy thinking-if you would have victory in the conflict. Do not talk about being made the righteousness of God in Christ if you are not living righteously, for when God justifies a man He makes him just. He justifies us by faith, but having been justified He now makes us just in our dealings with other people. That is what is meant by having on the breastplate of righteousness.
Then, some of us need a new pair of shoes: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This means that we are to walk in accordance with the gospel. You tell men that you have been saved by the grace of God, that you have peace with God. Very well, let your life show it. In this metaphor there is also the suggestion of feet swift to carry the gospel of peace. A Spanish translation of this verse is, Having your feet shod with the joyful readiness to propagate the gospel of peace. But we are not to go about propagating the gospel of peace by word of mouth unless we are living in the power of that gospel message. Otherwise we just bring dishonor on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then protecting the rest of the armor, the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. This is the shield of confidence in God. That is what faith is. It is not the faith-not what you believe, but how you believe. It is faith in the sense of confidence and trust-going to meet the enemy with your trust in the living God, not in yourself. For example, a preacher is asked to preach in a gospel meeting. He says to himself, Well, I have an old sermon here. I have used it 72 times already. Its nearly worn out, but I think it will do for this audience. Yes, I think I will use it again. Years ago when I preached this sermon there were 18 conversions. It must still be good. The devil hears all that, and he says, I will show you that you have come up against a greater foe than you realize. The meeting is a wretched failure, and the preacher says, I dont understand it. I have preached that sermon any number of times. I wonder what the trouble was. It was that the confidence of the preacher was in himself and his sermon instead of in the living God. I do not care how many times you have preached on a text, if you ever dare to stand up and preach the Word without getting your message fresh from the living God and going out in confidence in Him instead of in yourself, you will be a failure. I want that lesson to be impressed on my own heart, that is why I am putting it so strongly to you.
The next piece of armor is for our heads: And take the helmet of salvation. That is, I am to go forth boldly, taking with me the assurance of my salvation through the finished work of Christ. If I have any doubt as to my own salvation, I will have no real confidence when it comes to facing the foe.
The final piece of armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Do not make a mistake here; the sword of the Spirit is not the Bible. The Bible is the armory, or storehouse of weapons. There are thousands of swords in Gods Word and every one of them is powerful and double-edged. There are two different terms in Greek translated word. There is logos, which is the term we usually use, but the other word, rhema, is the one used here. It means a saying-that is, And the sword of the Spirit, which is the saying of God. If the devil comes against you and you throw the Bible at him, it is not going to drive him away. You might do that, and go down yourself. But when he comes, and you say, here is what God says, and you have a definite saying of God to meet the attack, you defeat him.
Take the example of our Lord in the wilderness (Luke chapter 4). The devil came so cunningly and said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Jesus answered, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. He took the sword out of the armory. You need to know your Bible so that you will be able to meet the devil whenever he comes with such suggestions. Then the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and said, All this power will I give thee if thou therefore wilt worship me. Out came another sword and the Lord went at the devil with it. He replied, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil tried to use the saying of God himself. He took Jesus up on a pinnacle of the temple and said, It is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at anytime thou dash thy foot against a stone. Think of the audacity of the devil quoting Scripture, and that to the Lord of life and glory Himself! But he left out a very important part of the verse. In Psa 91:11-12 we read, For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (italics added). It was not in Jesus ordinary ways to jump from the temple in order that men would see him carried by angel hands. The Lord countered with another saying from the Book of God; He said, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. The sword of the Spirit is the sayings of God. Get to know your Bible, and then when the devil comes against you, you will be able to say, But the Book says thus and so, and you will have the Word for him. If we want the blessing of God, we must walk in obedience to His Word. We must know our Bible so well that we can draw from this all-sufficient armory the particular saying that we need at a given moment.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
take: Eph 6:11-17, 2Co 10:4
the whole: [Strong’s G3833], a complete suit of armour, both offensive and defensive, from , all, and [Strong’s G3696], armour.
in the: Eph 5:6, Eph 5:16, Ecc 12:1, Amo 6:3, Luk 8:13, Rev 3:10
done all: or, overcome all
to stand: Mal 3:2, Luk 21:36, Col 4:12, Rev 6:17
Reciprocal: Psa 1:1 – standeth Isa 5:27 – neither Jer 17:17 – thou Eze 13:5 – to stand Amo 5:13 – an evil Rom 5:2 – wherein 1Co 10:13 – hath 1Co 16:13 – quit 2Co 6:7 – the armour 1Th 3:8 – if 1Th 5:8 – the breastplate 1Jo 4:4 – and have Rev 7:9 – stood Rev 12:11 – they overcame
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
READY FOR SERVICE
Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:13
Let me give you two watchwords
I. Put your armour onall of it! It is not enough to know that God provides the armourwe must use it. We dare not go forth one single hour without it. There is a story of a Spartan soldier who went into battle without his armour and who was fined by the senate though he had been victorious. There are people who hope to go out and fight Satan and his angels who have not proved their armour. Take, for example, the SwordGods Word. They cannot wield it; they use it clumsily; of course they do, they are not accustomed to handle it. They have Bibles, but they seldom or never look into them. Yet it is madness to dream of fighting without a sword. Imagine a soldier going into action who had not learned how to draw his sword from the scabbard.
II. Pray that you may have grace to stand firm!Having done all, to stand! Standing firm is the beginning and end of every successful contest. It is the beginning. In the old Greek training-grounds, the first words of the trainer used to be Stand firm! It is the attitude of readiness, of watchfulness, of resolution. A sloucher cannot fight. And it is the end. It is comparatively easy to drive back an enemy in the first rush; but the crucial test comes when soldiers are required to stand firm, and to hold their ground against an ever-returning, ever-increasing foe.
Rev. J. B. C. Murphy.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
(Eph 6:13.) -Wherefore take up the panoply of God. Wherefore, the foes being so formidable in power, operation, and nature, what need is there not to be fully protected with this complete and divine suit of mail? The charge is repeated from Eph 6:11, and the words employed are the usual military phraseology, as is shown by the illustrations of Elsner, Kypke, and Wetstein. Thus, Deu 1:41 – ; Jer 26:3; 2Ma 10:21.
-that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day. The soldier is equipped for the purpose of defending himself and opposing the enemy. The Christian armour is not worn for idle parade, or as holiday attire. The enemy must be encountered. But what is meant by the evil day? Similar phraseology is found (Psa 41:1; Psa 49:5) in the Septuagint version. If we preserve the spirit of the imagery, we should at once be led to conclude that it was the day of battle, or, as Theodoret calls it- . That is an evil day; for it may lead to wounds, though it does not destroy life. It is not specially and of necessity the day of death, as Schmid supposes, though it may be, and has often proved so. Nor is it every day of our life, as Chrysostom, OEcumenius, and Jerome understand it- -for there may be many a lull during a campaign, and there may be a long campaign ere a decisive battle be fought. Our view is that of most modern commentators, with the exception of Koppe and Meyer, who suppose Paul to refer to some future and terrible outbreak of Satan before the expected advent of Christ, which the apostle thought to be near at hand. Such is also the view of Usteri. Paulin. Lehrbeg. p. 341. But there can be no allusion to such a prospect in the verse before us. The evil day is that of resolute Satanic assault; evil – on account of the probability, or even possibility, of the sad consequences which failure or unpreparedness so often involves-damaged reputation, impaired usefulness, and the bitter regrets and memories of subsequent years. To how many has it been an evil day! Did not our Lord bid us pray, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil?
-and having done all to stand. Two distinct interpretations have been given of the deponent middle participle :-1. Some give it this sense, having subdued or overcome all, as in the margin of our English Bibles. This is the exegesis of OEcumenius and Theophylact, the former of whom expressly says that is used for . The view of these Greek critics is followed not only by Beza, Grotius, and Wetstein, but also by Harless, Olshausen, Rckert, Conybeare, and de Wette. There is no doubt that the verb does bear such a meaning among the classical writers; but though the word occurs often, there is no instance of such a sense in the New Testament. Raphelius, in loc.; Fritzsche, ad Rom. i. p. 107. Why then should this place be an exception?
2. Others, therefore, prefer the signification having done or accomplished all, that is, not simply having made all necessary preparation, as the Syriac, Morus, and Bengel too narrowly take it; but having done everything which the crisis demanded, in order to quell the foe and maintain their position. This preferable exegesis is supported by Erasmus, Bucer, Meier, Meyer, and Baumgarten-Crusius. Now, not to say that the neuter is against the former view, and more in accordance with the second, which refers it not to enemies, where we would have expected another gender, but to the general elements of military duty, we may add, in contradiction of Harless, that the spirit of the context is also in favour of the last exegesis. For, 1. The apostle proceeds to arm the Christian soldier, and it is not natural to suppose that he speaks of victory prior to equipment and battle. 2. The verb cannot be supposed to have a different signification from what it has in Eph 6:11. If the first opinion be adopted, having vanquished all your enemies, to stand, then would denote to stand victorious; or, as Luther has it, das Feld behalten-to keep the field. Now this is changing the meaning of the verse, for it signifies in Eph 6:11; Eph 6:14 to stand, not when the combat is over, but to stand with the front to the foe, in the very attitude of resistance and self-defence, or in expectation of immediate assault. 3. The clause appears to be explained by the succeeding verses; Stand therefore (Eph 6:14) with girdle, cuirass, sandals, shield, helmet, and sword, ever praying. The rendering of the Vulgate-in omnibus perfecti-is a deviation, probably borrowed from such a reading as Codex A presents-. Jerome has omnia operati.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 6:13. After describing the kind of warfare the Christian is to fight, the apostle repeats his exhortation for taking on the whole armor, which is necessary for him to withstand the enemy. Evil day means any day in which the enemy appears. Having done all comes from the Greek word KATERGAZOMAI, and it is defined by T h aye r, “to perform, accomplish, achieve; to work out, i.e., to do that from which something results.” Hence the last five words of the verse means, “having taken on the whole armor and
thus made full preparation, then make good the use of it and stand firm
against the enemy.” The Christian soldier who avails himself of this complete armor, then follows up with faithful use of it, is assured of final victory (Rom 8:31 Rom 8:37).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 6:13. Wherefore. Against such superhuman foes we need not only Divine strength (in the Lord) but Divine equipment, defensive and offensive.
Take up. A technical term, used of taking armor in order to put it on.
The whole armour of God; see Eph 6:11, and below.
That, in order that, ye may be aide to withstand, a more vivacious expression than that of Eph 6:11, as if the assault had begun.
In the evil day. The war is perpetual; the fight rages less on one day, more on another. It is the evil day, on the approach of death, or during life; longer or shorter, varying in itself, when the Evil One attacks us, and his malignant host infest us (Bengel). More particular explanations seem open to objection.
Having accomplished all; whether of preparation or of conflict; not to be referred to one or to the other exclusively, not yet to the final victoryan interpretation incompatible with the next phrase.
To stand, i.e., either to stand firm until the combat is over, or, to stand victorious after it is over. The former seems more accordant with usage.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. How our apostle having described the enemy in the foregoing verse, and set him forth in all his formidable strength and power, comes forth in the head of his Ephesian camp, gives a fresh alarm, and bids them arm! arm! Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day; intimating that an evil day is before us; that it will be of mighty advantage to us to be able to stand in the evil day; and that without the help of divine armour we cannot stand in that day. The sanctifying graces of God’s Spirit are this armour: he that has not these, let his common gifts be never so gay and glorious, he will never hold out to fight the last battle, but fall into the enemy’s hand, and be taken captive by him at his will.
Observe next, How our apostle comes to describe the armour of God piece by piece, which the Christian is to put on before he takes the field against the enemy. Here is the soldier’s girdle, his breastplate, his shoes, his shield, his helmet, and his sword, all described; his offensive and defensive weapons, wherewith soldiers of old used to arm their bodies from head to foot.
Now the apostle assigneth to particular graces a use and excellency answerable to these pieces of armour, and shows that there is some resemblance between every grace and that piece of the bodily armour to which it is here compared; but observable it is, that although there be pieces of armour for all other parts of the body, here is none assigned for the back, nor back-parts, because there must be no running away, no hope of escaping by flight in this spiritual warfare: if we turn our back upon our enemy, we lie open to his darts, and are in danger of destruction; if we fight on, we have our second in the field, and are sure of victory, provided we enter the field in order and stand to our arms, maintain our watch, keep our ground, and appear armed cap-a-pie, from head to foot, with the several pieces of armour here recommended: the first of which is the girdle of truth, Having your loins girt about with truth Eph 6:14 that is, sincerity of heart. Doth a girdle or belt adorn the soldier? so doth sincerity adorn the Christian. Doth the girdle strengthen the soldier’s loins? so doth sincerity strengthen the soul, and every grace in the soul: it is sincere faith that is strong faith; it is sincere love that is mighty love.
Secondly, The breastplate of righteousness; by which is to be understood the love and practice of universal holiness.
But why is this compared to a breastplate?
Ans. Because as the breastplate defends the most principal parts of the body, where the heart and vitals are closely couched together; thus holiness preserves the soul and conscience, the principal parts of a Christian, from the wounds and harms of sin, which is the weapon that Satan uses to give conscience its deadly stab with.
The third piece of Christian armour is the spiritual shoe, fitted to the soldier’s foot, and worn by him so long as he keeps the field against sin and Satan: the soldier’s way is sometimes full of sharp stones, and sometimes strewed with sharp iron spikes stuck into the ground; the soldier will soon be wounded, or foundered, if not well shod. Therefore the direction here is, Let your feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; that is, maintaining an holy readiness of spirit, and a resolute frame of heart, to undergo any suffering, and endure any hardship in your Christian warfare; which frame of spirit being wrought in us by the doctrine of the gospel, is therefore called the preparation of the gospel of peace.
The fourth piece of armour recommended above all to be put on, is the shield of faith; this is that grace by which we believe the truth of God’s word in general, and depend upon Christ in particular, as crucified, for pardon and life, and this upon the warrant of the promise.
But why is faith compared to a shield?
Ans. Because, as the shield defends the whole body, so faith defends the whole man; the understanding from error, the conscience from searedness, the will from rebellion against the will and command of God. And as the shield defends the whole armour, as well as the soldier’s whole body, it defends the breastplate, as well as the breast; so faith is our armour upon armour, a grace that preserves all other graces whatsoever.
The fifth piece of armour is mentioned, The helmet of salvation; Eph 6:17 by which the grace of hope is understood, which has for its object salvation, called therefore the hope of salvation. Salvation is the ultimate and comprehensive object of the Christian’s expectation; and it is compared to an helmet, because as the helmet defends the head, so doth the hope of salvation defend the soul; it keeps the head above water, and makes the Christian bold and brave. Hope is a grace of singular use and excellent service to a Christian, in the whole course of his Christian warfare; it puts him upon noble services, it keeps him patient under the greatest sufferings, and it will enable the soul to wait long for the performance of divine promises.
The sixth piece of spiritual armour is the sword. Eph 6:17. The former were defensive, but this is both an offensive and defensive weapon; such is the word of God. But why compared to a sword?
Ans. In regard both of its necessity and excellency: the sword was ever esteemed a most necessary and useful part of the soldier’s furniture; of such usefulness, necessity, and excellency is the word of God, by which the Christian doth defend himself, and offend his enemies.
But why is it called the sword of the Spirit?
Ans. Because the Spirit was the author of it; the Spirit of God is the interpreter of it: and it is the Spirit that gives the word its efficacy and power in the soul: the word of God, contained in the scriptures, is the sword by which the Spirit of God enables his saints to overcome and vanquish all their enemies.
The seventh and last piece of spiritual armour is mentioned, and that is prayer: Praying always, with all prayer, & c. Eph 6:18
Here note, The time for prayer, praying always; the sorts and kinds of prayer, praying always, with all prayer; the inward principle of prayer, from which it must flow, in the Spirit; the guard to set about the duty of prayer, watching thereunto; the constancy to be exercised in the duty, with all perservance, the comprehensiveness of the duty,for all saints.
Learn, That prayer is a necessary duty for all Christians, and to be used, with all other pieces of spiritual armour, by the Christian soldier.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The Christian’s Armor
Christians were urged by Paul to put on God’s armor. He said they should stand their ground because the forces of evil were going to attack ( 1Co 15:58 ; 1Co 16:13 ). The “evil day” is a day of crises when the fight is on. One must prepare for a battle before it comes, not during the attack (6:13).
Soldiers in Paul’s day girded their loins with a belt to hold things in place and allow freer movement. The truth is God’s word and will make us free ( Joh 17:17 ; Joh 8:32 ). The breastplate protected the vital organs of the chest region. Righteousness is the word of God, specifically his commandments (6:14; Psa 119:172 ). To hold his ground in even the worst conditions, the Roman soldier wore hobnailed sandals. The Christian is prepared, or ready, for the battle when he has on his gospel shoes.
Actually, we can take the fight to the enemy with the good news that Jesus died to make men free (6:15; Rom 1:14-16 ; Mar 16:15-16 ). Lipscomb says the shield was two and one-half feet wide and four feet high. It was made of wood covered with thick leather on the outside. When the enemy fired flaming arrows, they bounced off the tough leather and dropped harmlessly to the ground. Faith, which is our shield, is produced by hearing God’s word (6:16; Rom 10:17 ).
Lipscomb describes the Roman helmet as “a cap made of thick leather or brass, fitted to the head. It was used to guard the head from a blow by a sword, a war club, or a battleax.” To learn the ways of salvation, the Christian must study the God-breathed, or spoken, word which is only found in scripture ( 2Ti 3:15-17 ). The sword was a defensive and an offensive weapon. It was used to deflect blows and pierce the opponent. God’s word, as delivered by the Spirit, is the Christian’s sword ( Heb 4:12 ). Jesus knew its value and used it to turn aside Satan’s assault in the wilderness ( Mat 4:1-11 ). Only through study can the Christian soldier learn how to properly handle this important weapon (6:17; 2Ti 2:15 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Eph 6:13-14. Wherefore On this account, because the prize for which you contend is of such great value, and the enemies that oppose you are so subtle, powerful, and malicious, and will assuredly exert themselves to the utmost to effect your destruction, again let me say, Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand These dangerous enemies; in the evil day The day of temptation and trial. The war, we may observe, is perpetual: but the fight is one day less, and another more violent, and may be longer or shorter, admitting of numberless varieties; and having done all Having exerted yourselves to the utmost, and used the grace conferred upon you, and the means and advantages vouchsafed you, according to the will of God, which indeed it will be absolutely necessary for you to do; or, having gone through all your conflicts, and accomplished your warfare; to stand Victorious and with joy, before the Son of man. Stand therefore, having your loins girt And being in readiness for the encounter as good soldiers of Jesus Christ; with truth Not only with the truths of the gospel, but with truth in the inward parts, without which all our knowledge of divine truth will prove but a poor girdle in the evil day. Indeed, as faith is mentioned afterward as a distinct part of the spiritual armour, truth in this place cannot chiefly mean those truths which are the objects of the Christian faith, but rather a true or unfeigned profession of that faith, in opposition to that which is hypocritical, and uprightness of heart in our whole behaviour toward God and man, and a sincere desire to know and do the will of God, in all things. It has often been observed, says Doddridge, that the military girdle was not only an ornament but a defence, as it hid the gaping joints of the armour, and kept them close and steady, as well as fortified the loins of those that wore it, and rendered them more vigorous and fit for action. The chief difficulty here is to know whether truth refers to the true principles of religion, or to integrity in our conduct: and how, on the latter interpretation, to keep it distinct from the breast-plate of righteousness, or, on the former, from the shield of faith. But it seems probable to me, that it may rather signify some virtue of the mind, as all the other parts of the armour enumerated do; and then it must refer to that uprightness and sincerity of intention, which produces righteousness, or a holy and equitable conduct, as its proper fruit. Thus our Lord is described, Isa 11:5; and as a man girded is always ready for action, and a soldier, who is girded with the military belt, is fitted either for marching or fighting; so this seems intended to intimate an obedient heart, a ready will. Our Lord adds to the loins girded, the lights burning, Luk 12:35; showing that watching and ready obedience are inseparable companions. And having on the breast-plate of righteousness Imputed and implanted, justification and sanctification, or pardon and holiness. See on Rom 4:5; Rom 4:8; Rom 6:6-22; 1Co 1:30. In the breast is the seat of conscience, which is guarded by righteousness imputed to us in our justification, implanted in us in our regeneration, and practised by us in consequent obedience to the divine will. In the parallel place, 1Th 5:8, this piece of spiritual armour is called the breast-plate of faith and love; justification being received by faith, and love being the source of all our holiness. Perhaps the apostle, in this passage, alluded to Isa 59:17, where the Messiah is said to have put on righteousness as a breast-plate; that is, by the holiness of his conduct, and his consciousness thereof, he defended himself from being moved by the calumnies and reproaches of the wicked. No armour for the back is mentioned; we are always to face our enemies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Section Twelve: 6:13-24
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
It is of note that all verbs in this verse are aorist – one time action. You are to take, withstand, and are to have done all to stand – once, not daily, not as it is convenient – you know after you have sinned a lot and want to clean up your act a little – no, we are to take on the armour and take our stand – period.
Rather, takes the sails out of some of the spiritual warfare teachings. Standing is to be the hallmark of our lives; it is to be backed by that taking on of our armour. We should be noted for being at the ready; never not being at the ready.
God wants a standing army, not a bunch of reserves that will get armoured up when the time is forced upon them; they are to be armed and ready at all times – a natural state of affairs.
Note also that it is the “whole” armour, not just part of it. Fully prepared is the desire of God, not partially prepared. “Whole” and “armour” are one term that we have mentioned – we get our word panoply from the Greek word which also means whole armour.
This is only logical, what soldier would put on his helmet, flack jacket and go out to fight without his rifle? When you step up to stand in the gap, you want to have yourself covered as best you can so that your armour can deflect oncoming weapons. You also want that weapon to help in the protection of your person and others around you.
One of the saddest parts of the Iraq war was that we sent our troops in with less equipment than they should have had. This was a major mistake of preparations long before the war was undertaken. The leaders should have had the equipment on hand to face any war. You can’t take two years to prepare for war, then attack – that is illogical. The armour should have been available for the soldier’s protection when they hit the ground running.
When I was in grade school I accidentally made a big huge sixth grader run off the sidewalk on his bike and he was scraped up a little. The bell rang for school to start or I would have been in serious trouble. As I headed for school he was shouting at me that he was going to clobber me after school.
The rest of the afternoon I was putting my little mind to work as to how I was going to hop on my bike and make a quick get away. I had several routes planned on paper to get myself home safely. NO, I was not about to STAND against this huge guy; I was going to run for all I was worth. Stand? Never, there was not enough armour in the world to protect me against that guy.
God’s armour, on the other hand, is sufficient to stand against any comer, including the Devil himself. We don’t have to plan exit strategies, we don’t have to plan attacks, we have only to put on the armour and stand in the Devil’s way.
“In the evil day” is the time to stand. I don’t know of a time or day in history since Paul penned these words that we couldn’t call the “evil day.” We, as believers, are to stand in our day against the evil that is present.
As I read more and more from the old time writers, I am finding that the evil of their day is basically the evil of our own day. Nothing much has changed except the sugar coating on the outside of the evil. Evil is evil and it will not change – it will just change its shape or color or configuration now and then to look new, but it is that same old evil.
Our job is to take on the armour and stand, we are to stand against evil – that is important – evil, not good, don’t use that armour to wound the Christian, use it against the Devil. Paul says this is all we have to do to stand against evil.
Once the armour is on, we have done all we can do – God is going to do everything over and above that if there is any need. We armour ourselves and stand and we have done everything that we need to do to do the task of standing against evil.
So many today feel we have to get the armour on, then we have to strategize, then we have to march off into the sunset chasing down evil. Some suggest that we must do other things to protect ourselves, some of special formulas that you need to pray to get God’s protection. Nope, it is the armour and standing and that is all that is needed.
Oh, the big huge kid. When the bell rang to finish school, I was on the run out of the school, grabbed my bike, pedaled west a block then north two blocks then east three blocks and then south to my home. Never saw the big kid. Guess that means I outsmarted him. Well, maybe I was just quicker. Well, maybe he cooled off and decided the little squirt didn’t deserve death by beating after all. No matter the reason home was so sweet that day.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
6:13 {14} Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the {i} evil day, and having done all, to stand.
(14) He shows that these enemies are put to flight only with the armour of God, that is, with uprightness of conscience, a godly and holy life, knowledge of the Gospel, faith, and to be short, with the word of God. And that daily earnest prayer must be made for the health of the Church, and especially for the steadfast faithfulness of the true, godly, and valiant ministers of the word.
(i) See Eph 5:16 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This verse summarizes what has just preceded. It does not describe the Christian standing in victory after his or her conflict, as is clear from Eph 6:14-18. Probably Paul repeated himself here because of the urgency of taking up God’s provisions in view of the serious struggle we face.
The evil day in view probably describes any day in the present evil age in which the evil forces attack. A less likely possibility is that it is some day yet future that is more evil than the rest, such as the day of the Lord. Every day of temptation is an evil day for the Christian.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 29
THE DIVINE PANOPLY
Eph 6:13-18
“Stand” is the watchword for this battle, the apostles order of the day: that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and mastering all your enemies to stand Stand therefore, “girding your loins about with truth.” The apostle is fond of this martial style, . and such appeals are frequent in the letters of this period. The Gentile believers are raised to the heavenly places of fellowship with Christ, and invested with the lofty character of sons and heirs of God: let them hold their ground; let them maintain the honour of their calling and the wealth of their high estate, standing fast in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Pro aris et focis the patriot draws his sword, and manfully repels the invader. Even so the good soldier of Christ Jesus contends for his heavenly city and the household of faith. He defends the dearest interests and hopes of human life.
This defence is needed, for an “evil day” is at hand! This emphatic reference points to something more definite than the general day of temptation that is co-extensive with our earthly life. St. Paul foresaw a crisis of extreme danger impending over the young Church of Christ. The prophecies of Jesus taught His disciples, from the first, that His kingdom could only prevail by means of a severe conflict, and that some desperate struggle would precede the final Messianic triumph. This prospect looms before the minds of the New Testament writers, as “the day of Jehovah” dominated the imagination of the Hebrew prophets. Pauls apocalypse in 1 and 2 Thessalonians is full of reminiscences of Christs visions of judgment. It culminates in the prediction of the evil day of Antichrist, which is to usher in the second, glorious coming of the Lord Jesus. The consummation, as the apostle was then inclined to think, might arrive within that generation, {1Th 4:15, 1Th 4:17} although he declares its times and seasons wholly unknown. In his later epistles, and in this especially, it is clear that he anticipated a longer duration for the existing order of things; and “the evil day” for which the Asian Churches are to prepare can scarcely have denoted, to the apostles mind, the final day of Antichrist, though it may well be an epoch of similar nature and a token and shadow of the last things.
In point of fact a great secular crisis was now approaching. The six years (64-70 after Christ) extending from the fire of Rome to the fall of Jerusalem, were amongst the most fateful and calamitous recorded in history. This period was, in a very real sense, the day of judgment for Israel and the ancient world. It was a foretaste of the ultimate doom of the kingdom of evil amongst men; and through it Christ appears to have looked forward to the end of the world. Already “the days are evil” (Eph 5:16); and “the evil day” is at hand-a time of terror and despair for all who have not a firm faith in the kingdom of God.
Two chief characteristics marked this crisis, as it affected the people of Christ: persecution from without, and apostasy within the Church. {Mat 24:5, Mat 24:8-12} To the latter feature St. Paul refers elsewhere. Of persecution he took less account, for this was indeed his ordinary lot, and had already visited his Churches; but it was afterwards to assume a more violent and appalling form. When we turn to the epistle to the Seven Churches {Rev 2:1-29; Rev 3:1-22} written in the next ensuing period, we find a fierce battle raging, resembling that for which this letter warns the Asian Churches to prepare. The storm which our apostle foresees had then burst. The message addressed to each Church concludes with a promise to “him that overcometh.” To the faithful it is said: “I know thy endurance.” The angel of the Church of Pergamum dwells where is “the throne of Satan,” and where “Antipas the faithful martyr was killed.” There also, says the Lord Jesus, “are those who hold the teaching of Balaam, and the teaching of the Nicolaitans,” with whom “I will make war with the sword of my mouth.” {Eph 6:17} Laodicea has shrunk from the trial, and grown rich by the worlds friendship. Thyatira “suffers the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce” the servants of Christ. Sardis has but “a few names that have not defiled their garments.” Even Ephesus, though she had tried the false teachers and found them wanting (surely Pauls epistles to Timothy had helped her in this examination), has yet “left her first love.” The day of trial has proved an evil day to these Churches. Satan has been allowed to sift them; and while some good wheat remains, much of the faith of the numerous and prosperous communities of the province of Asia has turned out to be faulty and vain. The presentiments that weighed on St. Pauls mind when four years ago he took leave of the Ephesian elders at Miletus, and which reappear in this passage, were only too well justified by the course of events. Indeed, the history of the Church in this region has been altogether mournful and admonitory.
But it is time to look at the armour in which St. Paul bids his readers equip themselves against the evil day. It consists of seven weapons, offensive or defensive-if we count prayer amongst them: the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness to bear the message of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the word, and the continual cry of prayer.
I. In girding himself for the field, the first thing the soldier does is to fasten round his waist the military belt. With this he binds in his undergarments, that there may be nothing loose or trailing about him, and braces up his limbs for action. Peace admits of relaxation. The girdle is unclasped; the muscles are unstrung. But everything about the warrior is tense and firm; his dress, his figure and movements, speak of decision and concentrated energy. He stands before us an image of resolute conviction, of a mind made up. Such a picture the words “girt about with truth” convey to us.
The epistle is pervaded by the sense of the Churchs need of intellectual conviction. Many of the Asian believers were children, half-enlightened and irresolute, ready to be “tossed to and fro and carried about with. every wind of doctrine”. {Eph 4:14} They had “heard the truth as it is in Jesus,” but had an imperfect comprehension of its meaning. They required to add to their faith knowledge, -the knowledge won by searching thought respecting the great truths of religion, by a thorough mental appropriation of the things revealed to us in Christ. Only by such a process can truth brace the mind and knit its powers together in “the full assurance of the understanding in the knowledge of the mystery of God, which is Christ”. {Col 2:2-3}
Such is the faith needed by the Church, now, as then, the faith of an intelligent, firm, and manly assurance. There is in such faith a security and vigour of action that the faith of mere sentiment and emotional impression, with its nerveless grasp, its hectic and impulsive fervours, cannot impart. The luxury of agnosticism, the languors of doubt, the vague sympathies and hesitant eclecticism in which delicate and cultured minds are apt to indulge; the lofty critical attitude, as of some intellectual god sitting above the strife of creeds, which others find congenial-these are conditions of mind unfit for the soldier of Christ Jesus. He must have sure knowledge, definite and decided purposes-a soul girdled with truth.
II. Having girt his loins, the soldier next fastens on his breastplate, or cuirass.
This is the chief piece of his defensive armour; it protects the vital organs. In the picture drawn in 1Th 5:8, the breastplate is made “of faith and love.” In this more detailed representation, faith becomes the outlying defensive “shield,” while righteousness serves for the innermost defence, the rampart of the heart. But, in truth, the Christian righteousness is compounded of faith and love.
This attribute must be understood in its full Pauline meaning. It is the state of one who is right with God and with Gods law. It is the righteousness both of standing and of character, of imputation and of impartation, which begins with justification and continues in the new, obedient life of the believer. These are never separate, in the true doctrine of grace. “The righteousness that is of God by faith” is the souls main defence against the shafts of Satan. It wards off deadly blows, both from this side and from that. Does the enemy bring up against me my old sins? I can say: “It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?” Am I tempted to presume on my forgiveness, and to fall into transgression once more? From this breastplate the arrow of temptation falls pointless, as it resounds: “He that doeth righteousness is righteous. He that is born of God doth not commit sin.” The completeness of pardon for past offence and the integrity of character that belong to the justified life, are woven together in an impenetrable mail.
III. Now the soldier, having girt his loins and guarded his breast, must look well to his feet. There are lying ready for him shoes of wondrous make.
What is the quality most needed in the soldiers shoes? Some say it is firmness; and they so translate the Greek word employed by the apostle, occurring only here in the New Testament, which in certain passages of the Septuagint seems to acquire this sense, under the influence of Hebrew idiom. But firmness was embodied in the girdle. Expedition belongs to the shoes. The soldier is so shod that he may move with alertness over all sorts of ground.
Thus shod with speed and willingness were “the beautiful feet” of those that brought over desert and mountain “the good tidings of peace,” the news of Israels return to Zion. {Isa 52:7-9} With such swift strength were the feet of our apostle shod, when “from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum” he had “fulfilled the gospel of Christ,” and is “ready,” as he says, “to preach the glad tidings to you also that are in Rome”. {Rom 1:15} This readiness belonged to His own holy feet, who “came and preached peace to the far off and the near,” {Eph 2:17} when, for example, sitting a weary traveller by the well-side at Sychar, He found refreshment in revealing to the woman of Samaria the fountain of living water. Such readiness befits His servants, who have heard from Him the message of salvation and are sent to proclaim it everywhere.
The girdle and the breastplate look to ones own safety. They must be supplemented by the evangelic zeal inseparable from the Spirit of Christ. This is, moreover, a safeguard of Church life. Von Hofmann says admirably upon this point: “The objection [brought against the above interpretation] that the apostle is addressing the faithful at large, who are not all of them called to preach the gospel, is mistaken. Every believer should be prepared to witness for Christ so often as opportunity affords, and needs a readiness thereto. The knowledge of Christs peace qualifies him to convey its message. He brings it with him into the strife, of the world. And it is the consciousness that he possesses himself such peace and has it to communicate to others, which enables him to walk firmly and with a sure step in the way of faith.” When we are bidden to “stand in the evil day,” that does not mean to stand idle or content to hold our ground. Attack is often the best mode of defence. We keep our faith by spreading it. We defend ourselves from our opponents by converting them to the gospel, which breathes everywhere reconciliation and fraternity. Our Foreign Missions are our grand modern apologetic; and Gods peacemakers are His mightiest warriors.
IV. With his body girt and fenced and his feet clad with the gospel shoes, the soldier reaches out his left hand to “take up withal the shield, ” while his right hand grasps first the helmet which he places on his head, and then the sword that is offered to him in the word of God.
The shield signified is not the small round buckler, or target, of the light-armed man; but the door like shield, measuring four feet by two and-a-half and rounded to the shape of the body, that the Greek hoplite and the Roman legionary carried. Joined together these large shields formed a wall, behind which a body of troops could hide themselves from the rain of the enemys missiles. Such is the office of faith in the conflicts of life: it is the soldiers main defence, the common bulwark of the Church. Like the citys outer wall, faith bears the brunt and onset of all hostility. On this shield of faith the darts of Satan are caught, their point broken, and their fire quenched. These military shields were made of wood, covered on the outside with thick leather, which not only deadened the shock of the missile, but protected the frame of the shield from the “fire-tipped darts” that were used in the artillery of the ancients. These flaming arrows, armed with some quickly burning and light combustible, if they failed to pierce the warriors shield, fell in a moment extinguished at his feet.
St. Paul can scarcely mean by his “fiery darts” incitements to passion in ourselves, inflammatory temptations that seek to rouse the inward fires of anger or lust. For these missiles are “firepointed darts of the Evil One.” The fire belongs to the enemy who shoots the dart. It signifies the malignant hate with which Satan hurls slanders and threats against the people of God through his human instruments. A bold faith wards off and quenches this fire even at a distance, so that the soul never feels its heat. The hearts confidence is unmoved and the Churchs songs of praise are undisturbed, while persecution rages and the enemies of Christ gnash their teeth against her. Such a shield to him was the faith of Stephen the protomartyr.
“I heard the defaming of many; there was terror on every side. But I trusted in Thee, O Jehovah: I said, Thou art my God!”
To “take up the shield of faith,” is it not, like the Psalmist, to meet injuries and threats, the boasts of unbelief and of worldly power, the poisoned arrows of the deceitful and the bitter words of unjust reproach, with faiths quiet counter-assertion? “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” says the apostle in the midst of tribulation. “God is my witness, whom I serve in the gospel of His Son,” he answers when his fidelity is questioned. No shaft of malice, no arrow of fear can pierce the soul that holds such a shield.
V. At this point (Eph 6:17), when the sentence beginning at Eph 6:14 has drawn itself out to such length, and the relative clause of Eph 6:16 b makes a break and eddy in the current of thought, the writer pauses for a moment. He resumes the exhortation in a form slightly changed and with rising emphasis, passing from the participle to the finite verb: “And take the helmet of salvation.” The word take, in the original, differs from the taking up of Eph 6:13 and Eph 6:16. It signifies the accepting of something offered by the hand of another. So the Thessalonians “accepted the word” brought them by St. Paul {1Th 1:6} and Titus “accepted the consolation” given him by the Corinthians {2Co 8:17} -in each case a welcome gift. Gods hand is stretched out to bestow on His chosen warrior the helmet of salvation and the sword of His word, to complete his equipment for the perilous field. We accept these gifts with devout gratitude, knowing from what source they come and where the heavenly arms were fashioned.
The “helmet of salvation” is worn by the Lord Himself, as He is depicted by the prophet coming to the succour of His people. This {Isa 59:17} helmet, on the head of Jehovah, is the crest and badge of their Divine champion. Given to the human warrior, it becomes the sign of his protection by God. The apostle does not call it “the hope of salvation,” as he does in 1Th 5:8, thinking of the believers assurance of victory in the last struggle. Nor is it the sense and assurance of past salvation that here guards the Christian soldier. The presence of his Saviour and God in itself constitutes his highest safeguard.
“O Jehovah my Lord, the strength of my salvation, Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.”
The warriors head, rising above his shield, was frequently open to attack. The arrow might shoot over the shields edge, and inflict a mortal blow. Our faith, at the best, has its deficiencies and its limits; but Gods salvation reaches beyond our highest confidence in Him. His overshadowing presence is the crown of our salvation, His love its shining crest.
Thus the equipment of Christs soldier is complete; and he is arrayed in the full armour of light. His loins girt with truth, his breast clad with righteousness, his feet shod with zeal, his head crowned with safety, while faiths all-encompassing shield is cast about him, he steps forth to do battle with the powers of darkness, “strong in the Lord, and in the might of His strength.”
VI. It only remains that “the sword of the Spirit” be put into his right hand, while his lips are open in continual prayer to the God of his strength.
The “cleansing word” of Eph 5:26, by whose virtue we passed through the gate of baptism into the flock of Christ, now becomes the guarding and smiting word, to be used in conflict with our spiritual foes. Of the Messiah it was said, in language quoted by the apostle against Antichrist: {2Th 2:8} “He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.” {Isa 11:4} Similarly, in Hosea, the Lord tells how He has “hewed” the unfaithful “by His prophets, and slain them by the words of His mouth.” {Hos 6:5} From such sayings of the Old Testament the idea of the sword of the Divine word is derived. We find it again in Heb 6:12 : “The word of God, living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword”; and in the “sword, two-edged, sharp,” which John in the Revelation saw “coming out of the mouth of the Son of man”: it belongs to Him whose name is “the word of God,” and with it “He shall smite the nations.”
This sword of the inspired word Paul himself wielded with supernatural effect, as when he rebuked Elymas the sorcerer, or when he defended his gospel against the Judaisers of Galatia and Corinth. In his hand it was even as
“The sword Of Michael. from the armoury of God, tempered so that neither keen Nor solid might resist that edge.”
With what piercing reproofs, what keen thrusts of argument, what double-edged irony and dexterous sword-play did this mighty combatant smite the enemies of the cross of Christ! In times of conflict never may such leaders be wanting to the Church, men using weapons of warfare not carnal, but mighty to “cast down strongholds,” to “bring down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and make captive every thought to Christs obedience.” In her struggle with the worlds gigantic lusts and tyrannies, the Israel of God must be armed with this lofty and lightning-like power, with the flaming sword of the Spirit. No less in the secret, internal conflicts of the religious life, the sword of the word is the decisive weapon. The Son of man put it to proof in His combat in the wilderness. Satan himself sought to wrest this instrument to his purpose. With pious texts in his mouth he addressed our Lord, like art angel of light, fain to deceive Him by the very Scripture He had Himself inspired! until, with the last thrust of quotation, Jesus unmasked the tempter and drove him from the field, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan!”
VII. We have surveyed the Christian soldier with his harness on. From head to foot he is clothed in arms supernatural. No weapon of defence or offence is lacking, that the spiritual combat needs. Nothing seems to be wanting: yet everything is wanting, if this be all. Our text began: “Be strong in the Lord.” It is prayer that links the believer with the strength of God.
What avails Michaels sword, if the hand that holds it is slack and listless? what the panoply of God, if behind it beats a craven heart? He is but a soldier in semblance who wears arms without the courage and the strength to use them. The life that is to animate that armed figure, to beat with high resolve beneath the corslet, to nerve the arm as it lifts the strong shield and plies the sharp sword, to set the swift feet moving on their gospel errands, to weld the Church together into one army of the living God, comes from the inspiration of Gods Spirit received in answer to believing prayer. So the apostle adds: “With all prayer, and supplication praying at every time in the Spirit.”
There is here no needless repetition. “Prayer” is the universal word for reverent address to God; and “supplication” the entreaty for such help as “on every occasion”-at each turn of the battle, in each emergency of life-we find ourselves to need. And Christian prayer is always “in the Spirit,”-being offered in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, who is the element of the believers life in Christ, who helps our infirmities and, virtually, intercedes for us. {Rom 8:26-27} When the apostle continues, “watching [or keeping awake] thereunto,” he reminds us, as perhaps he was thinking himself, of our Lords warning to the disciples sleeping in Gethsemane: “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” The “perseverance” he requires in this wakeful attention to prayer is the resolute persistence of the suppliant, who will neither be daunted by opposition nor wearied by delay.
The word “supplication” is resumed at the end of Eph 6:18, in order to enlist the prayers of the readers for the service of the Church at large: “with wakeful heed thereto, in all the persistence and supplication for all the saints.” Prayer for ourselves must broaden out into a catholic intercession for all the servants of our Master, for all the children of the household of faith. By the bands of prayer we are knit together, -a vast multitude of saints throughout the earth, unknown by face or name to our fellows, but one in the love of Christ and in our heavenly calling, and all engaged in the same perilous conflict.
“All the saints,” St. Paul said, {Eph 1:15} were interested in the faith of the Asian believers; they were called “with all the saints” to share in the comprehension of the immense designs of Gods kingdom. {Eph 3:18} The dangers and temptations of the Church are equally far-reaching; they have a common origin and character in all Christian communities. Let our prayers, at least, be catholic. At the throne of grace, let us forget our sectarian divisions. Having access in one Spirit to the Father, let us realise in His presence our communion with all His children.